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11 - Five Stories by Alan Nourse by Alan E. Nourse · Five Stories by Alan Nourse

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Infinite Intruder, Part one of five stories by Alan Norse.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Kirk Ziggler. When Roger's
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Strang found that some one was killing his son, killing
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: him horribly and often, he started investigating. He wasn't prepared
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: to find the results of another investigation, this time about
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: his own life. It was the second time they tried
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: that Roger realized someone was trying to kill his son.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: The first time. There had been no particular question. Accidents happen.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Even in those days, with all the base safety regulations
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: and strict speedway lane laws, young boys would occasionally try
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: to gun their monowheels out of the slow lanes into
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: the terribly swift traffic. When they did, accidents did occur.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: The first time when they brought David home in the
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: base ambulance, shaken but unhurt, with the twisted, smashed remains
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: of his monowheel, Roger and Anne Strang had breathed weekly
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: and decided between themselves that the boy should be scolded
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: within an inch of his life, and the fact that
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: David maintained tenaciously that he had never swerved from the
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: slow monowheel lane didn't bother his parents a bit. They
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: were acquainted with another small boy, Frailty. Small Boys, on
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: occasion are inclined to fibb, but the second time, David
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: was not fibbing. Roger's strang saw the accident the second time,
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: he saw all the circumstances involved, and he realized with
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: horrible clarity that someone, somehow was trying to kill his son.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: It had been late on a Saturday afternoon. The free
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: week ends at the Barrier base engineers had once enjoyed
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: to take their families for picnics outside or to rest
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: and relax were things of the past, and for the
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: work on the barrier was reaching a critical stage, demanding
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: more and more of the technicians, science, modists and engineers
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: engaged in its development. Already diplomatic relations with the Eurasian
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: Combine were becoming more and more impossible. The barrier had
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: to be built and quickly, or another more terrible New
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: York City would be the result. Roger had never cleared
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: from his mind the flaming picture of that night of
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: horror just five years before, when the Mindy Metropolis had
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: burst into radioactive flame to announce the beginning of the
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: first atomic War. The year twenty seventy eight was engraved
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: in millions of minds as the year of the most
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: horrible and the shortest war in all history. For an
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: armistice had been signed not four days after the first
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: bomb had been dropped. At armistice but an uneasy peace,
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: for neither of the great nations had really known what
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: atomic war would be like until it happened, and once
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: upon them, they found that atomic war was not practical,
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: for both mighty opponents would have been gutted in a
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: matter of weeks. The armistice had stopped the bombs, but
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: hostilities continued until the combined scientific forces of one nation
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: could succeed in preparing a defense. That particular Saturday afternoon
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: had been busy in the main labs on the barrier base.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: The problems of erecting a continental long electronic barrier to
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: cover the coast of North America was a staggering proposition.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: Roger's strang was nearly finished and ready for home as
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: dusk was falling, leaving his work at the desk He
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: was slipping on his jacket when David came into the lab.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: He was small for twelve years, with tasseled sand brown
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: hair standing up at odd angles about a sharp, intelligent face.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: I came to get you, daddy, he said. Roger smiled.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: You rode all the way down here just to go
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: home with me. Maybe we could get some icy pops
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: for supper on the way home, David remarked innocently. Roger
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: grinned broadly and slapped the boy on the back. You'd
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: sell your soul for an icy pop, he grinned. The
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: corridor was dark. The man and boy walked down to
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: the elevator, and in a moment were swishing down to
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: the dark and deserted lobby below. David stepped first from
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: the elevator. When the men struck one stood on either
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: side of the door in the shadow. The boy screamed
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: and reeled from the blow across the neck. Suddenly, Roger
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: heard the sharp pistol, reports. David dropped with a groan,
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: and Roger staggered against the wall from a powerful blow
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: in the face. He shook his head groggily, catching a
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: glimpse of two men running through the door. Into the
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: street below. As three or four people ran into the lobby,
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: flushed out by the shots, Roger shouted, pointing to the door,
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: but the people were looking at the boy. Roger sank
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: down beside his son, deft fingers loosening the blouse. The
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: boy's small face was deathly white, fearful sobs choking his
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: breath as he closed his eyes and shivered. Roger searched
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: under his blouse, trying to find the bullet holes, and
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: to his chagrin, there weren't any bullet holes. Where did
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: you feel the gun? David pointed vaguely at his lower ribs,
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: right here. He said, it hurt when they shoved the
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: gun at me, but they couldn't have pulled the trigger
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: if the gun was pointed there. He examined the unbroken
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: skin on the boy's chest, fear tearing through his mind.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: A security man was there, suddenly, asking about the accident,
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: taking Roger's name, checking over the boy, Roger resented the
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: tall man in the gray uniform, felt his temper rise
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: at the slightly sarcastic tone of the questions. Finally, the
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: trooper stood up, shaking his head. The boy must have
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: been mistaken, he said, kids always have wild stories to tell.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: Whoever it was may have been after somebody, but they
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: weren't aiming for the boy. Roger scowled. This boy is
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: no liar, he snapped, I saw them shoot the trooper shrugged.
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: Well he isn't hurt. Why don't you go home? Roger
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: helped the boy up angrily. You're not going to do
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: anything about this. What can I do? Nobody saw who
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: the men were. Roger grabbed the boy's hand, helped him
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: to his feet, and turned angrily to the door. In
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: the failing light outside, the improbability of the attack struck
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: through him strongly. He turned to the boy, his face dark. David,
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: he said, evenly. You wouldn't be making up stories about
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: feeling that gun in your ribs, would you. David shook
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: his head vigorously, eyes still wide with fear. Honest, Dad,
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: I told you the truth. But they couldn't have shot
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: you in the chest without breaking the skin. He glanced
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: down at the boy's blouse and jacket and stopped, suddenly,
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: seeing the blackened holes in the ripped cloth. He stooped
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: down and sniffed the holes suspiciously, and shivered suddenly in
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: the cold evening air. The burned holes smelled like gunpowder. Strang,
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: you must have been wrong. The large man settled back
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: in his chair, his gray hair smoothed over a bald spot.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: Someone trying to kill you. I could see. There's plenty
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: of espionage going on, and you're doing important work here.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: But your boy, the chief of the Barrier base security,
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: shook his head. You must have been mistaken. But I
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: wasn't mistaken. Roger Strang sat forward in his chair, his
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: hands gripping the arms until his knuckles were white. I'd
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: told you exactly what happened. They got him as he
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: came off the elevator and shot at him. Not at me, Morrel,
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: at my son. They just clubbed me in the face
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: to get me out of the way. What sort of men.
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: Morrell's eyes were sharp, Roger scowled, running his hand through
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: his hair. It was too dark to see. They wore
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: hats and field jackets. The gun could be identified by ballistics.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: But they were fast, Morrel, They knew who they were
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: looking for. Morrell rose suddenly, his face impatient. Strang, he said,
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: you've been here at the base for quite a while now,
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: ever since a month after the war isn't that right,
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: August twenty seventy eight, somewhere around there. I know, but
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: you've been working hard. I think maybe your rest would
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: do you some good rest, Roger exploded. Look, man, I'm
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: not joking. This isn't the first time. The boy had
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: a monowheel accident. Three weeks ago, and he swore he
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: was riding in the safe lane where he belonged. It
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: looked like an accident, then now it looks like a
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: murder attempt. The slugs from the gun must be in
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: the building, embedded in the plaster work somewhere. Surely you
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: could try to trace the gun, he glared at the
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: man's impassive face bitterly. Or maybe you don't want to
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: trace the gun, Morrell scowled. I've already checked on it.
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: The gun wasn't registered in the base. Security has a
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: check on every firearm within a fifty mile range. The
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: attackers must have been outsiders. Roger's face flushed. That's not true, Morrel,
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: he said softly. And you know it's not true, Morrell shrugged.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: Have it your own way, he said, indifferently. Take a rest, Strang,
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: go home, get some rest, and don't bother me. With
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: any more of your fairy tales. He turned suddenly on Roger,
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: and be careful what you do with gun, Strang. The
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: only thing about this that I do know is that
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: somebody shot a pistol off and scared the hell out
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: of your son. You were the only one around As
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: far as I know, I don't know your game, but
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: you'd better be careful. Strang left Security headquarters and crossed
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: across to the labs. Frustrated and angry, his mind spun
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: over the accident, incredulous, but more incredulous that Morrel would
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: practically laugh at him. He stopped by the Labs building
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: to watch the workmen putting up a large electronic projector
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: in one of the test yards. Work was going ahead,
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: but so slowly. Roger was aware of the tall, thin
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: man who had joined him before. He had looked around.
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: Martin Drango put a hand on his shoulder. Been avoiding
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: me lately, Martin Roger Strang turned his face lighting up,
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: Not avoiding you. I've been so busy. My wife hasn't
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: seen me in four days. How are things in maintenance,
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: the thin man smiled sadly. How are things ever in maintenance? First,
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: a railroad breaks down, and then there's a steel strike.
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: Then some the paymaster doesn't make a payroll. The war
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: knock things for a loop. Roger, Even now things are
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: still loopy, and how are things in production? Roger scowled.
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: Let's have some coffee, he said. They sat back in
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: a corner booth of the base dispensary. As Roger told
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: about David Martin, Drango listened without interruption. He was a
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: thin man from top to bottom, a shock of unruly
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: black hair topping an almost cadaverous face, blue eyes behind large,
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: thick lenses. His whole body was like a skeleton, his
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: fingers long and bony as he lit a cigarette. But
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: the blue eyes were quick, and the nods warm and understanding.
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: He listened, and then he said it couldn't have been
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: an outsider. Roger shrugged. Anything is possible, but why why
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: go after a kid? Drango hunched his shoulders forward. I
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: don't get it, he said, David has done nothing to
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: give him enemies. He drew on his cigarette. What did
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: Morrel have to say? Say? He laughed at me, wouldn't
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: even listen to me, told me to go home and
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: go to bed, that I was all wet. I tell you, Martin,
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: I saw it. You know I wouldn't lie. You know
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: I don't see things that don't happen. Yes, said Martin glumly.
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: I believe you all right, but I can't see why
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: your son should be the target. You'd be more likely.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: He stood up, stretching his long legs. Look, old boy,
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: take Morrel's advice, at least temporarily go home and get
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: some sleep. Now you're all worked up, I'll go in
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: and talk to Morrel. Maybe I can handle that old
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: buzzard better than you can. Roger watched his friend amble
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: down the aisle and out of the store. He felt
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: better now that he had talked to Drango. Smiling to himself,
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: he finished his coffee. Many a scrape he and Martin
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: had seen through together. He remembered that night of horror
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: when the bomb fell on the city, His miraculous rescue,
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: the tall, thin figure reflecting the red glare from his glasses,
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: forcing his way through the burning timbers of the building,
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: tearing Roger's leg loose from the rubble covering it. The
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: frightful struggle through the rubbish, fighting off fear crazed mobs
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: that sought to stop them, rob them, kill them. They
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: had made the long trek together. Martin and he the
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: evacuation rode down to Maryland, the road of horrors, lined
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: with the rotting corpses of the dead and the soon dead,
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: the dreadful refuse of that horrible night. Martin Drango had
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: been a stout friend to Roger. He had been with
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: Martin the night they'd met. Anne took the ring from
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: Martin's finger when they stood at the altar on their
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: wedding day, shared with Martin his closest confidence. Roger sighed
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: and paid for the coffee. What to do? The boy
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: was home, now recovering from the shock of the attack.
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: Roger caught an outbound try wheel and sped down the
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: busy thoroughfare toward his home. If Martin could talk to
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: Morrel and get something done, perhaps they could get a
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: line somehow, Perhaps they could trace the attack. In the morning,
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: he'd see Martin again and they could figure out a scheme.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: But he didn't have a chance to see Martin again,
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: for at eleven thirty that night, the marauders struck again
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: for the third time. Through his sleep, he heard a
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: door close down below and sat bolt upright in bed,
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: his heart pounding wildly, only a tiny sound, the click
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: of a closing door. Anne was sitting up beside him, now,
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: brown hair close around her head, her body tense. Roger,
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: she whispered, did you hear something? Roger was out of bed,
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: bounding across the room into the hall. Blood pounded in
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: his ears as he rushed to David's room, stopped short
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: before the open door. Shots rang out like whipcracks, and
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: he saw the yellow flame from the guns. There were
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: two men in the dark room, standing at the bed
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: where the boy lay. Rolled into a terrified knot. The
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: guns cracked again and again, ripping the bedding, bursting the
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: pillow into a shower of feathers, tearing the boy's pajamas
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: from his thin body. A dozen blazing shots. Roger let
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: out a strangled cry, grabbed one of the men by
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: the throat in a savage effort to stop the murderous pistols.
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: The other man caught him in a coarse blow behind
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: the air, and he staggered hard against the wall dully.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: He heard the door slam heavy footsteps down the corridor.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: Running down the stairs, he struggled feebly to his feet,
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: glancing at the steel form on the bed. Choking back
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: a sob. He staggered down the hall, shouting to Anne
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: as he went down the stairs, redoubling his speed as
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: he heard the purr of autojets in the driveway. In
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: a moment, he was in his own car, frantically stamping
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: on the starter. It started immediately, the motor booming. The
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: powerful jet engines forced the heavy car ahead, dangerously, taking
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: the corner on two of its three wheels. He knew
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: that Ann would call security, and he raced to gain
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: on the tail lights that were disappearing down the winding
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: residential road to the main highway. Throwing caution to the winds,
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: Roger swerved the car across a front lawn, down between
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: two houses, into an alley, and through another driveway, gaining
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: three blocks ahead. At the junction with the main Base highway,
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: he saw the long black autojet turn right. Roger snaked
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: into traffic on the highway and bore down on the
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: black car. The traffic was light because of the late hour,
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: but the patrol was on the road and might stop
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: him instead of the killers. The other car was traveling
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: at top speed, swerving around the slower cars. Roger gained slowly,
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: he fingered the spotlight, preparing to snap it in the
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: driver's eyes. Taking a curve at ninety, he crept up
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: alongside the black car as he heard the siren of
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: a patrol car behind him. Cursing, he edged over on
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: the black car, snapped the spotlight full in the face
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: of the driver. The screaming siren forced him off the
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: road and he braked hard, his hands trembling. A patrolman
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: came over to the car, gun drawn. He took a
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: quick look at Roger and his face tightened. Mister Strang,
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: he said, sharply, we've been looking for you. You're wanted
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: its security that car, Roger started weakly. You've got to
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: stop that car I was chasing. Never mind that car.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: The patrolman snarled, it is you. They want hop out.
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: We'll go in the patrol car. You've got to stop them.
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: The patrolman fingered his gun. Security wants to talk to you,
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: mister Strang. Hop out. Roger moved dazedly from his car.
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: He didn't question the patrolman. He hardly even hurt him.
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: His mind raced in a welter of confusion, trying desperately
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: to refute the brilliant pitcher in his mind from that
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: split second that the spotlight had rested on the driver
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: of the black car, trying to fit the impossible pieces
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: into their places. For the second man in the black
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: autojet had been John Morrel, chief of Barrier Base Security,
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: and the driver had been Martin Drango. The man at
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: the desk was a stranger to Roger Strang. He was
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: an elderly man, stooped with gray hair and a small
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: clip mustache that seemed to stick out like antennae. He
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: watched Roger in passively with steel gray eyes, motioning him
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: to a chair. You let us a merry chase, he said, flatly,
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: his tone brittle, A very merry chase. The alarm went
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: out for you almost an hour ago. Strang's cheeks were
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: red with anger. My son was shot tonight. I was
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: trying to follow the killers. Killers. The man raised his eyebrows. Yes, killers,
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: Roger snapped, Do I have to draw you a pitcher?
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: They shot my son down in his bed. The man
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: stared at him for a long time. Well, he said, finally,
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: in a baffled tone, Now I've heard everything. It was
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: Roger's turn to stare can't you understand what I've said?
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: My son was murdered. The gray haired man flipped a
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: pencil down on the desk impatiently. Mister Strang, he said elaborately,
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: My name is Whitman. I flew down here from Washington
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: to night after being called from my bed by the
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: commanding officer of this BASS. I am the national chief
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: of the Federal Bureau of Security, mister Strang, and I'm
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: not interested in fairy tales. I would like you to
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: come off it now and answers questions for me. I
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: don't want double talk, I want answers. Do I make
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: myself quite clear? Roger stared at him, finally nodded his head. Quite,
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: he said sourly. Whitman hunched forward in his chair. Mister Strang,
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: how long have you been working in the barrier base?
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: Five years? Ever since the bombing of New York. Whitman nodded, Oh, yes,
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: the bombing of New York. He looked sharply at Roger.
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: And how old are you, mister Strang. Roger looked up, surprised,
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: thirty two. Of course you have my records. Why are
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: you asking? The gray haired man lit a cigarette. Yes,
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: we have your records, he said off handedly. Very interesting records,
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: quite normal, quite in order, nothing out of the ordinary.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: He stood up and looked out on the dark street.
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: Just one thing wrong with your records, mister Strang. They
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: aren't true. Roger stared, this is ridiculous, He blurted, what
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: are you mean, they aren't true. Whitman took a deep
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: breath and pulled a sheet of paper out of a
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: sheaf on his desk. It says here he said that
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: you are Roger Strang, and that you were born in Indyola, Iowa,
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: on the fourteenth of June twenty fifty one. That your
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: father was Jason Strang born August eleventh, twenty twenty three,
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: in Chicago, Illinois. That you lived in Indianola until you
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: were twelve, when your father moved to New York City
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: and was employed with the North American Electronics Laboratories. That
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: you entered International Polytechnic Institute at age twenty one, studying
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: physics and electronics and graduated in June twenty seventy five
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: with the bachelor's degree of Electronics. That you did further work,
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: taking a master's and doctorate in electronics at Polytech in
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: twenty seventy seven. Whitman took a deep breath. That's what
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: it says here, a very ordinary record. But there's no
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: record here of your birth in Indianola, Iowa, in twenty
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: fifty one, or in any other time. There's no record
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: there of your father, the alleged Jason Strang, or in Chicago.
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: No one by the name of Jason Strang was ever
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: employed by North American Electronics. No one by the name
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: of Roger Strang ever attended Polytech. Whitman watched him with
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: cold eyes. To the best of our knowledge, and according
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: to all available records, there never was any one named
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: Roger Strang until after the bombing of New York. Roger
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: sat stock, still his mind racing. This is silly, he said, finally,
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: perfectly idiotic. Those schools must have records. Whitman's face was tight.
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: They do have records, complete records, But the name of
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: Roger Strang is curiously missing from the roster of graduates
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: in twenty seventy five or any other year. He snubbed
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: his cigarette angrily. I wish you would tell me and
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: save us both much unpleasantness. Just who you are, mister Strang,
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: and where you come from? Strang stared at the man,
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: his pulse pounding in his head. Filtering into his mind
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: was a vast confusion, some phrase, some word, some nebulous
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: doubt that frightened him, made him almost believe that the
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: gray haired man in the chair before him. He took
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: a deep breath, clearing his mind of the nagging doubt.
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: Look here, he said, exasperated. When I was drafted for
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: the barrier base, they checked off my origin for my
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: education and credentials. If they had been false, I'd have
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: been snapped up right then, probably shot. They were shooting
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: people for chewing their finger nails in those days. I
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: wouldn't have stood a chance. Whitman nodded his head vigorously. Exactly,
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: he snapped, You should have been picked up, but you
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: weren't even suspected until we did a little checking after
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: that accident in the lab's building yesterday. Somehow false credentials
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: got through for you. Security does not like false credentials.
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: I don't know how you did it, but you did.
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: I want to know how, but I tell you. Roger
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: stood up, fear growing suddenly in his mind. He lit
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: a cigarette, took two nervous puffs, and set it down,
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: forgotten in the ashtray. I have a wife, he said, shakily.
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: I married her in New York City. We had a
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: son born in a hospital in New York City. He
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: went to school there. Surely there must be some kind
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: of record, Whitman smiled grimly, almost mockingly. Good old New
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: York City, he snarled. Married there, you say, wonderful sun
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: born there in the one city in the country where
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: that information can never be checked. That's very convenient, mister
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: Strang or whoever you are. I think you'd better talk.
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: Roger snubbed out the cigarette viciously. My son, he said,
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: after a long pause, he was murdered tonight, shot down
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: in his bed. The security chief's face went white garbage,
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: he snapped, what kind of fool do you think I am? Strang?
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: Your son murdered bah. When the alarm went out for you,
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: I personally drove to your Oddly enough, this wife of
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: yours wasn't at home, but your son was nice, little chap.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: He made us some coffee and explained that he didn't
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: know where his parents were because he'd been asleep all night,
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: quietly asleep in his bed. The words were clipped out
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: and rang in Roger's ears incredibly. His hand shook violently
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: as he puffed his cigarette, burning his fingers on the
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: short butt. I don't believe it, he muttered, hollowly. I
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: saw it happen. Whitman sneered, Are you going to talk
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: or not? Roger looked up helplessly. I don't know, he
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: said weakly, I don't know. The security chief threw up
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: his hands in disgust. Then we'll do it the hard way,
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: he grated, flipping an intercom switch. His voice snapped out
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: cold in the still room. Send in sych squad, he growled,
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: We've got a job to do. Roger Strang lay back
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: on the small bunk, his nerves yammering from the steady barrage,
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: lights still flickering green red in his eyes. His body
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: was limp, his mind functioning slowly sluggishly. His eyelids were
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: still heavy from the drugs, his wrists and forehead burning
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: and sore where the electrodes had been attached. His muscles
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: hardly responded when he tried to move, his strength completely
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: gone washed out. He simply lay there, his shallow breathing
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: returning to him from the dark stone walls. The inquisition
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: had been savage, the hot lights, the smooth faced men
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: firing questions over and over, the drugs, the curious sensation
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: of mouthing nonsense, of hearing his voice rambling on crazily
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: yet being unable in any way to control it, the
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: hypnotic effect of Whitman's soft voice, the glitter in his
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: steel gray eyes, and the questions, questions, questions. The light
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: detector had been going by his side, jerking insanely at
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: his answers every time, the same answers every time, setting
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: the needle into wild gyrations. And finally, the foggy, indistinct
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: memory of Whipman mopping his forehead and stamping savagely on
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: a cigarette and muttering desperately, it's no use. Lies, nothing
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: but lies. Lies. Lies. He couldn't be lying under this treatment,
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: but he is, and he knows he is lies. Roger
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: stretched his heavy limbs, his mind struggling up into a
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: tardy rejection. Not lies. He hadn't lied. He had been
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: answering the truth to the questions. He couldn't have been lying,
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: for the answers were there clear in his memory, and
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: yet the same nagging doubt crept through the same feeling
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: that had plugged him throughout the inquisition, the nagging, haunting,
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: horrible conviction somewhere in the depths of his numbring that
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: he was lying. Something was missing, somewhere, some vast gap
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: in his knowledge, something of which he simply was not aware.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: The incredible turnabout of Martin Drango, the attack on David,
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: who was killed but was somehow not dead. He had
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: to be lying, But how could he lie and still
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: know that he was not lying? His sluggish mind wrestled,
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: trying to choke back the incredible doubt. Somewhere in the morass,
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: the picture of Martin Drango came through, Drango, the trader
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: who was trying to kill his son. But the conviction
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: swept through again, overpowering the certain knowledge that Drango was
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: not a trader, that he must trust Drango. Drango was
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: his friend, his stalwart, his agent. Strang sat bolt upright
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: on the cot, his head spinning. The thought had broken through,
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: crystal clear in the darkness, revealed itself for the briefest instant,
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: then swirled down again into the foggy gulf. Agent. Why
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: should he have an agent? For what purpose? Frantically he
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: scoured his memory for Drango down along the dark channels, searching.
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: Drango had come through the fire into the burning building,
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: carried him like a child through the flames into safety.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: Drango had been best man at his wedding, but had
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: been married before the bombing of the city. Or had he?
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: Where did Drango fit in? Where was the fire? The
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: first time he had seen Drango, something deep in his
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: mind forced its way through, saying, no, you have known
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: him all your life. Roger fought it back, frantically. Never
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: back in Iowa. There had been no Drango, nor in Chicago,
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: nor in New York. He hadn't even known him in
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: New Albany. And of Infinite Intruder, Part one recording by
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: Kirk ziggler Ogden Utah voice overs by Kirk dot Com