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The K Factor · Astounding Sci-Fi Story Collection

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Speaker 1: The K Factor by Harry Harrison. This is a LibriVox recording.
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Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Reading
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Speaker 1: by Greg Marguerite. The K Factor by Harry Harrison. We're
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Speaker 1: losing a planet, Neil. I'm afraid that I can't understand it.
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Speaker 1: The bald and wrinkled head wobbled a bit on the
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Speaker 1: thin neck, and his eyes were moist. A Bravenel was
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Speaker 1: a very old man. Looking at him, Neil realized for
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Speaker 1: the first time just how old and close to death
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Speaker 1: he was. It was a profoundly shocking thought. Pardon me, sir,
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Speaker 1: Neil broke in, But is it possible to lose a planet?
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Speaker 1: I mean, if the readings are done correctly and the
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Speaker 1: K factor equations worked to the tenth decimal place, then
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Speaker 1: it's really a matter of adjustment, making the indicated corrections.
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Speaker 1: After all, sosietics is an exact science, exact exact of course,
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Speaker 1: It's not. Have I taught you so little that you
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Speaker 1: dare to say that to me? Anger animated the old man,
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Speaker 1: driving the shadow of death back a step or two.
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Speaker 1: Neil hesitated, feeling his hands quiver, ever so slightly, groping
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Speaker 1: for the right words. Societics was his faith, and his teacher,
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Speaker 1: A Bravnel, its only prophet. This man before him, carefully
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Speaker 1: preserved by the age retarding drugs, was unique in the galaxy,
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Speaker 1: a living anachronism, a refugee from history books. A. Bravnel
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Speaker 1: had single handedly worked out the equations spelled out his
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Speaker 1: science of societics that he had trained seven generations of
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Speaker 1: students in its fundamentals. Hearing the articles of his faith
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Speaker 1: defamed by its creator produced a negative feedback loop in
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Speaker 1: Neil so strong his hands vibrated in tune with it. It
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Speaker 1: took a jarring effort to crack out of the cycle.
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Speaker 1: The laws that control societics as postulated by you are
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Speaker 1: as exact as any others in the unified field theory
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Speaker 1: universe know they're not. And if any man I taught
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Speaker 1: believes that nonsense, I'm retiring tomorrow and dropping dead the
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Speaker 1: day after. My science and it is really not logical
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Speaker 1: to call it a science is based on observation, experimentation,
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Speaker 1: control groups, and corrected observations. And though we have made
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Speaker 1: observations in the millions, we are dealing in units in
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Speaker 1: the bill ins, and the interactions of these units are
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Speaker 1: multiples of that. And let us never forget that our
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Speaker 1: units are people who, when they operate as individuals, do
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Speaker 1: so in a completely different manner. So you cannot truthfully
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Speaker 1: call my theories exact. They fit the facts well enough
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Speaker 1: and produce results in practice that has been empirically proven
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Speaker 1: so far. Someday, I am sure we will run across
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Speaker 1: a culture that doesn't fit my rules. At that time
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Speaker 1: the rules will have to be revised. We may well
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Speaker 1: have that situation now on Himmel. There's trouble cooking there.
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Speaker 1: They have always had a high activity count, Sir, Neil
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Speaker 1: put in, hopefully, Hi, yes, but always negative until now.
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Speaker 1: Now it is slightly positive, and nothing we can do
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Speaker 1: seems to change it. That's why I've called you in.
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Speaker 1: I want you to run a new basic survey, ignoring
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Speaker 1: the old ones still in operation, to re examine the
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Speaker 1: checkpoints of our graphs. The trouble may lie there, Neil
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Speaker 1: thought before he answered, picking his words carefully. Wouldn't that
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Speaker 1: be a little unethical? Sir? After all, Hangley, who is
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Speaker 1: operator there now, is a friend of mine going behind
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Speaker 1: his back. You know, I know nothing of the sort.
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Speaker 1: A Ravenel snorted. We are not playing for poker chips
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Speaker 1: or seeing who can get a paper published first. Have
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Speaker 1: you forgotten what sosiatics is? Neil answered by rote the
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Speaker 1: applied study of the interaction of individuals in a culture,
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Speaker 1: the interaction of the group generated by these individuals, the
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Speaker 1: equations derived therefrom and the application of these equations to
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Speaker 1: control one one or more factors of this same culture.
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Speaker 1: And what is the one factor that we have tried
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Speaker 1: to control in order to make all the other factors
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Speaker 1: possible of existence? War Neil said, in a very small voice.
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Speaker 1: Very good, Then there is no doubt what it is
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Speaker 1: we are talking about. You are going to land quietly
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Speaker 1: on Himmel, do a survey as quickly as possible, and
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Speaker 1: transmit the data back here. There is no cause to
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Speaker 1: think of it as sneaking behind Hengley's back, but is
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Speaker 1: doing something to help him set the matter right? Is
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Speaker 1: that understood? Yes, sir, Neil said firmly, this time straightening
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Speaker 1: his back and letting his right hand rest reassuringly on
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Speaker 1: the computer slung from his belt. Excellent. Then it is
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Speaker 1: now time to meet your assistant. A Bravenel touched a
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Speaker 1: button on his desk. It was an unexpected development, and
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Speaker 1: Neil waited with interest as the door opened, but he
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Speaker 1: turned away abruptly, his eyes slid it and his face
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Speaker 1: white with anger. A Bravenel introduced them. Neil siderak, this
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Speaker 1: is Costa. I know him. He was in my class
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Speaker 1: for six months. There wasn't the slightest touch of friendliness
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Speaker 1: in Neil's voice now A Bravenell either ignored it or
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Speaker 1: didn't hear it. He went on as if the two cold,
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Speaker 1: distant young men were the best of friends, classmates, very good,
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Speaker 1: then there is no need to make introductions, though it
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Speaker 1: might be best to make clear your separate areas of control.
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Speaker 1: This is your project, Neil, and Adao Costa will be
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Speaker 1: your assistant, following your orders and doing whatever he can
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Speaker 1: to help you. Know he isn't a graduate societist, but
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Speaker 1: he has done a lot of field work for us
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Speaker 1: and can help you greatly in that. And of course
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Speaker 1: he will be acting as an observer for the UN
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Speaker 1: in making his own reports in this connection. Neil's anger
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Speaker 1: was hot and apparent. So he's a UN observer. Now
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Speaker 1: I wonder if he still holds his old job at
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Speaker 1: the same time. I think it's only fair, sir, that
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Speaker 1: you know he works for Interpol. A Bravenel's ancient and
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Speaker 1: weary eyes looked at both men and he sighed. Wait outside, Costa,
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Speaker 1: he said, Neil will be with you in a minute.
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Speaker 1: Costa left without a word, and a Bravnel waved Neil
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Speaker 1: back to his chair. Listen to me now, he said,
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Speaker 1: and stop playing tunes on that infernal buzzer. Neil snapped
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Speaker 1: his hand away from the belt computer as if it
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Speaker 1: had suddenly grown hot. A hesitant finger reached out to
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Speaker 1: clear the figures he had nervously been setting up, then
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Speaker 1: thought better of it. A Bravenel sucked life into his
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Speaker 1: ancient pipe and squinted at the younger man. Listen, he said,
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Speaker 1: you have led a very sheltered life here at the university,
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Speaker 1: and that is probably my fault. No, don't look angry.
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Speaker 1: I don't mean about girls in that matter. Undergraduates have
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Speaker 1: been the same for centuries. I'm talking about people in groups, individuals, politics,
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Speaker 1: and all the complicated mess that makes up human life.
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Speaker 1: This has been your area of study, and the program
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Speaker 1: is carefully planned so you can study it second hand.
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Speaker 1: The important thing is to develop the abstract viewpoint, since
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Speaker 1: any attempt to prejudge results can only mean disaster. And
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Speaker 1: it has been proven many times that a man with
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Speaker 1: a certain interest will make many unwitting errors to shape
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Speaker 1: an observation or experiment in favor of his interest. No,
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Speaker 1: we could have none of that. Here. We are following
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Speaker 1: the proper study of mankind, and we must do that
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Speaker 1: by keeping personally on the outside to preserve our perspective.
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Speaker 1: When you understand that, you understand many small things about
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Speaker 1: the university, why we give only resident student scholarships at
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Speaker 1: a young age, and why the out of the way
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Speaker 1: location here in the Dolomites. You will also see the
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Speaker 1: reason why the campus bookstore stocks all of the books
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Speaker 1: published but never has an adequate supply of newspapers. The
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Speaker 1: agreed policy has been to see that you all mature
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Speaker 1: with the long view, then hopefully you will be immune
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Speaker 1: to short term political interests after you leave. This policy
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Speaker 1: has worked well in turning out men with the correct
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Speaker 1: attitude towards their work. It has also turned out a
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Speaker 1: fair number of self centered, egocentric horrors. Neil flushed, do
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Speaker 1: you mean that I know? I don't mean you if
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Speaker 1: I did, I wouldn't say so. Your worst fault, if
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Speaker 1: you can call it a fault, since it is the
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Speaker 1: very thing we have been trying to bring about, is
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Speaker 1: that you have a very provincial attitude towards the universe.
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Speaker 1: Now is the time to re examine some of those ideas. Firstly,
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Speaker 1: what do you think the attitude of the UN is
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Speaker 1: towards societics. There was no easy answer. Neil could see
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Speaker 1: traps ready for anything, he said. His words were hesitant.
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Speaker 1: I can't say I've really ever thought about it. I imagine
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Speaker 1: the UN would be in favor of it, since we
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Speaker 1: make their job of world government that much easier. No
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Speaker 1: such thing, a Bravenel said, tempering the sharpness of his
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Speaker 1: words with a smile. To put it in the simplest language,
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Speaker 1: They hate our guts. They wish I had never formulated sosiatics,
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Speaker 1: and at the same time they are very glad that
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Speaker 1: I did. They are in the position of the man
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Speaker 1: who caught the tiger by the tail. The man enjoys
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Speaker 1: watching the tiger eat all of his enemies, and as
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Speaker 1: each one is consumed, his worry grows greater. What will
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Speaker 1: happen when the last one is gone. Will the tiger
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Speaker 1: then turn and eat him? Well, we are the UN's tiger.
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Speaker 1: Sosiatics came along just at the time it was sorely needed.
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Speaker 1: Earth had settled a number of planets and governed them
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Speaker 1: first as outposts, then as colonies. The most advanced planets
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Speaker 1: very quickly outgrew the colony stage and flexed their independent muscles.
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Speaker 1: The UN had no particular desire to rule an empire,
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Speaker 1: but at the same time they had to ensure Earth's safety.
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Speaker 1: I imagine they were considering all sorts of schemes, including
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Speaker 1: outright military control, when they came to me, even in
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Speaker 1: its early crude forms, Sosiatics provided a stop gap that
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Speaker 1: would give them some breathing time. They saw to it
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Speaker 1: that my work was well endowed and aided me unofficially,
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Speaker 1: of course, in setting up the first control experiments on
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Speaker 1: different planets. We had results, some very good and the
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Speaker 1: others not so bad that the local police couldn't get
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Speaker 1: things back under control after a while, while I was
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Speaker 1: of course happy to perfect my theories in practice. After
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Speaker 1: a hundred years, I had all the rough spots even down,
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Speaker 1: and we were in business. The UN has never come
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Speaker 1: up with a workable alternative plan. So they have settled
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Speaker 1: down to the uncomfortable business of holding the tiger's tail.
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Speaker 1: They worry and spend vast sums of money keeping an
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Speaker 1: eye on our work. But why, Neil broke in, why
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Speaker 1: a Bravenel gave a quick smile, thank you for your
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Speaker 1: fine character rating. I imagine it is inconceivable to you
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Speaker 1: that I might want to be emperor of the universe.
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Speaker 1: I could be. You know, the same forces that holds
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Speaker 1: the lid on the planets could just as easily blow
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Speaker 1: them off. Neil was speechless at the awful enormity of
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Speaker 1: the thought. A Bravenel rose from behind his desk with
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Speaker 1: an effort, and shambled over to lay a thin and
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Speaker 1: featherlight arm on the younger man's shoulders. Those are the
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Speaker 1: facts of life, my boy, and since we cannot escape them,
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Speaker 1: we must live with them. Costa is just a man
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Speaker 1: doing his duty, So try to put up with him
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Speaker 1: for my sake, if not for your own, of course,
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Speaker 1: Neil agreed quickly. The whole thing takes a bit of
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Speaker 1: getting used to, but I think I can manage. We'll
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Speaker 1: do as good a job on Himmel as is possible
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Speaker 1: to do. Don't worry about me. Sir Costa was waiting
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Speaker 1: in the next room, puffing quietly on a long cigarette.
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Speaker 1: They left together, walking down the hall in silence. Neil
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Speaker 1: glanced sideways at the wiry, dark skinned Brazilian and wondered
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Speaker 1: what he could say to smooth things out. He still
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Speaker 1: had his reservations about Costa, but he'd keep them to himself.
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Speaker 1: Now a Bravenel had ordered peace between them, and what
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Speaker 1: the old man said was the law. It was Costa
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Speaker 1: who spoke first. Can you brief me on Himmel what
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Speaker 1: we'll find there and be expected to do? Run the
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Speaker 1: basic survey first, of course, Neil told him. Chances are
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Speaker 1: that that will be enough to straighten things out. Since
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Speaker 1: the completion last year of the refining equations of Debir's postulate,
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Speaker 1: all sigma one ten and alpha one forty two graph
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Speaker 1: points are suspect. Just stop there, please, and run the
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Speaker 1: flag back down the pole. Costa interrupted. I had a
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Speaker 1: six month survey of societics seven years ago to give
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Speaker 1: me the general idea of the field. I've worked with
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Speaker 1: survey teams since then, but I have only the vaguest
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Speaker 1: idea of the application of the information We got could
12:15
Speaker 1: you cover the ground again, only a bit slower. Neil
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Speaker 1: controlled his anger successfully and started again in his best
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Speaker 1: classroom manner. Well, I'm sure you realize that a good
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Speaker 1: survey is half the problem. It must be impartial and exact.
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Speaker 1: If it is accurately done, application of the K factor
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Speaker 1: equations is almost mechanical. You've lost me again. Everyone always
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Speaker 1: talks about the K factor, but no one has ever
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Speaker 1: explained just what it is. Neil was warming to his topic.
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Speaker 1: Now it's a term borrowed from nucleonics and best understood
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Speaker 1: in that context. Look, you know how an atomic pile
12:51
Speaker 1: works essentially just like an atomic bomb. The difference is
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Speaker 1: just a matter of degree and control. In both of them,
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Speaker 1: you have neutrons tearing around, some of them hitting nuclei
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Speaker 1: and starting new neutrons going. These in turn hit and
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Speaker 1: start others. This goes on faster and faster, and bam,
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Speaker 1: a few milliseconds later, you have an atomic bomb. This
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Speaker 1: is what happens if you don't attempt to control the reaction. However,
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Speaker 1: if you have something like heavy water or graphite that
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Speaker 1: will slow down neutrons and an absorber like cadmium, you
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Speaker 1: can alter the speed of the reaction. Too much dampening
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Speaker 1: material will absorb too many neutrons and the reaction will stop.
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Speaker 1: Not enough, and the reaction will build up to an explosion.
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Speaker 1: Neither of these extremes is wanted in an atomic pile.
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Speaker 1: What is needed is a happy balance where you are
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Speaker 1: soaking up just as many neutrons as are being generated
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Speaker 1: all the time. This will give you a constant temperature
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Speaker 1: inside the reactor. The net neutron reproduction constant is then one.
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Speaker 1: This balance of neutron generation and absorption is the K
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Speaker 1: factor of the reactor, ideally one point zero zero zero
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Speaker 1: zero zero zero zero. That's the ideal, though impossible to
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Speaker 1: attain in a dynamic system like a reactor. All you
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Speaker 1: need is a few more neutrons around, giving you a
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Speaker 1: K factor of one point zero zero zero zero zero
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Speaker 1: zero zero one, and you are headed for trouble. Each
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Speaker 1: extra neutron produces two and your production rates soars geometrically
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Speaker 1: towards bang. On the other hand, a K factor of
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Speaker 1: zero point nine nine nine nine nine is just as bad.
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Speaker 1: Your reaction is spiraling down in the other direction. To
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Speaker 1: control a pile, you watch your K factor and make
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Speaker 1: constant adjustments. All this, I follow Costa said, But where's
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Speaker 1: the connection with societics. We'll get to that just as
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Speaker 1: soon as you realize and admit that a minute difference
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Speaker 1: of degree can produce a marked difference of kind. You
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Speaker 1: might say that a single, impossibly tiny neutron is the
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Speaker 1: difference between an atom bomb and a slowly cooling pile
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Speaker 1: of inert uranium isotopes. Does that make sense, I'm staggering,
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Speaker 1: but still with you. Good. Then try to go along
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Speaker 1: with the analogy that a human society is like an
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Speaker 1: atomic pile. At one extreme, you will have a dying,
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Speaker 1: decadent culture, the remains of a highly mechanized society, living
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Speaker 1: off its capital, using up resources it can't replace because
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Speaker 1: of the lost technology. When the last machine breaks and
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Speaker 1: the final food synthesizer collapses, the people will die. This
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Speaker 1: is the cooled down atomic pile. At the other extreme
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Speaker 1: is complete and violent anarchy, every man thinking only of himself,
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Speaker 1: killing and destroying anything that gets in his way. The
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Speaker 1: atomic explosion midway between the two is a vital act
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Speaker 1: of producing society. This is a generalization, and you must
15:48
Speaker 1: look at it that way. In reality, society is infinitely
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Speaker 1: complex and the ramifications and possibilities are endless. It can
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Speaker 1: do a lot more things than fizzle or go boom.
15:59
Speaker 1: Pressure of populationation, war or persecution patterns can cause waves
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Speaker 1: of immigration. Plant and animal species can be wiped out
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Speaker 1: by momentary needs or fashions. Remember the fate of the
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Speaker 1: passenger pigeon and the American bison. All the pressures cross relationships.
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Speaker 1: Hunger's needs, hatred's desires of people are reflected in their
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Speaker 1: inter relationships. One man standing by himself tells us nothing.
16:24
Speaker 1: But as soon as he says something, passes on information
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Speaker 1: in an altered form, or merely expresses an attitude, he
16:31
Speaker 1: becomes a reference point. He can be marked, measured, and
16:34
Speaker 1: entered on a graph. His actions can be grouped with
16:37
Speaker 1: others in the action of the group measured. Man and
16:41
Speaker 1: his society then becomes a systems problem that can be
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Speaker 1: fed into a computer. We've cut the Gordian knot of
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Speaker 1: the three l's and are on our way towards a solution.
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Speaker 1: Stop Costa said, raising his hand, I was with you
16:54
Speaker 1: as far as the three l's. What are they? A
16:56
Speaker 1: private code? Not a code? Abbreviation? Linear logic language. The
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Speaker 1: pitfall of all the old researchers, all of them, historians, sociologists,
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Speaker 1: political analysts, anthropologists were licked before they started. They had
17:12
Speaker 1: to know all about A and B before they could
17:15
Speaker 1: find c. Facts to them were always hooked up in
17:19
Speaker 1: a series, whereas in truth they had to be analyzed
17:23
Speaker 1: as a complex circuit, complete with elements like positive and
17:26
Speaker 1: negative feedback and crossover switching, with the whole thing being
17:30
Speaker 1: stirred up constantly by continual homeostasis correction. It's little wonder
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Speaker 1: they did so badly. You can't really say that a
17:38
Speaker 1: deo Costa protested. I'll admit that societics has carried the
17:41
Speaker 1: art tremendously far ahead, but there were many basics that
17:45
Speaker 1: had already been discovered. If you are postulating a linear
17:48
Speaker 1: progression from the old social sciences, forget it. Neil said.
17:52
Speaker 1: There is the same relationship here that alchemy holds to physics.
17:56
Speaker 1: The old boys, with their frog guts and awful ofal
17:59
Speaker 1: n new way, bit about things like distilling and smelting,
18:02
Speaker 1: but there was no real order to their knowledge, and
18:05
Speaker 1: it was all an unconsidered by product of their single goal,
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Speaker 1: the whole nonsense of transmutation. They passed the lounge and
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Speaker 1: Adeo waved Neil in after him. Dropping into a chair,
18:16
Speaker 1: he rummaged through his pockets for a cigarette, organizing his thoughts.
18:20
Speaker 1: I'm still with you, he said, But how do we
18:22
Speaker 1: work this back to the K factor? Simple, Neil told him,
18:26
Speaker 1: Once you've gotten rid of the three l's and their
18:28
Speaker 1: false conclusions. Remember politics in the old days was all
18:33
Speaker 1: we are angels and they are devils. This was literally
18:37
Speaker 1: believed in in the history of mankind. There has yet
18:40
Speaker 1: to be a war that wasn't backed by the official
18:42
Speaker 1: clergy on each side, and each declared that God was
18:45
Speaker 1: on their side, which leaves you know who as prime
18:48
Speaker 1: supporter of the enemy. This theory is no more valid
18:51
Speaker 1: than the one that a single man can lead a
18:53
Speaker 1: country into war, followed by the inference that a well
18:57
Speaker 1: timed assassination can save the peace. That doesn't sound too unreasonable,
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Speaker 1: Costa said, of course, not all of the old ideas
19:05
Speaker 1: sound good. They have a simple minded simplicity that anyone
19:09
Speaker 1: can understand. That doesn't make them true. Kill a war
19:13
Speaker 1: minded dictator, and nothing changes the violence oriented society, the
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Speaker 1: factors that produced it, the military party that represents it,
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Speaker 1: none of these are changed. The K factor remains the same.
19:25
Speaker 1: There's that word again. Do I get a definition yet,
19:28
Speaker 1: Neil smiled. Of course, the K factor is one of
19:32
Speaker 1: the many factors that interrelate a society. Abstractly, it is
19:36
Speaker 1: no more important than the other odd thousand we work with,
19:39
Speaker 1: but in practice it is the only one we try
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Speaker 1: to alter. The K factor is the war factor. Adao
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Speaker 1: Costas said, all the humor was gone. Now that's a
19:50
Speaker 1: good enough name for it, Neil said, grinding out his
19:53
Speaker 1: half smoked cigarette. If a society has a positive K factor,
19:57
Speaker 1: even a slight one that stays positive, then you're going
19:59
Speaker 1: to to have a war. Our planetary operators have two jobs,
20:03
Speaker 1: first to gather and interpret data, secondly, to keep the
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Speaker 1: K factor negative. They were both on their feet now,
20:10
Speaker 1: moved by the same emotion, and Himmel has a positive
20:13
Speaker 1: one that stays positive, Costa said, Neil. Sitarak nodded agreement.
20:18
Speaker 1: Then let's get into the ship and get going, he said.
20:21
Speaker 1: It was a fast trip and a faster landing. The
20:24
Speaker 1: un cruiser cut its engines and dropped like a rock
20:27
Speaker 1: and free fall. Night rain washed the ports and the
20:30
Speaker 1: computer cut in the maximum permissible blast for the minimum
20:34
Speaker 1: time that would reduce their speed to zero at zero
20:37
Speaker 1: altitude decelerations, sat on their chests and squeezed their bones
20:41
Speaker 1: to rubber. Something crunched heavily under their stern. At the
20:45
Speaker 1: exact instant the drive cut out, Costa was unbelted and
20:49
Speaker 1: out the door, while Neil was still feeling his inside
20:51
Speaker 1: shivered back into shape. The unloading had an organized rhythm
20:55
Speaker 1: that rejected Neil. He finally realized he could help best
20:58
Speaker 1: by standing back out of the way while the crewmen
21:00
Speaker 1: grab lifted the heavy cases out through the cargo port
21:03
Speaker 1: into the blackness of the rain lashed woods. A deo
21:06
Speaker 1: Costa supervised this and seemed to know what he was doing.
21:10
Speaker 1: A signal rating wearing earphones stood to one side of
21:13
Speaker 1: the lock, chanting numbers that sounded like detector fixes. There
21:17
Speaker 1: was apparently enough time to unload everything, but none despair.
21:20
Speaker 1: Things got close towards the end. Neil was suddenly bustled
21:24
Speaker 1: out into the rain and the last two crates were
21:26
Speaker 1: literally thrown out after him. He plowed through the mud
21:29
Speaker 1: to the edge of the clearing and had just enough
21:31
Speaker 1: time to cover his face before the takeoff blast burst
21:34
Speaker 1: out like a new sun. Sit down and relax, Costa
21:37
Speaker 1: told him everything is in the green so far. The
21:40
Speaker 1: ship wasn't spotted on the way down. Now all we
21:43
Speaker 1: have to do is wait for transportation. In theory, at
21:46
Speaker 1: least a deo, Costa was Neil's assistant. In practice, he
21:49
Speaker 1: took complete charge of moving their equipment and getting it
21:51
Speaker 1: under cover in the capital city of Cates. Men and
21:55
Speaker 1: trucks appeared to help them and vanished as soon as
21:58
Speaker 1: their work was done. Within twenty hours hours, they were
22:00
Speaker 1: installed in a large loft, all of the machines uncrated
22:03
Speaker 1: and plugged in. Neil took a no sleep and began
22:07
Speaker 1: tuning checks on all the circuits. Glad of something to do,
22:10
Speaker 1: Costa locked the heavy door behind their last silent helper,
22:14
Speaker 1: then dropped gratefully into one of the betting rolls. How
22:17
Speaker 1: did the gadgets hold up, he asked, I'm finding out now.
22:20
Speaker 1: They're built to take punishment, But being dropped twelve feet
22:23
Speaker 1: into mud soup then getting baked by rockets isn't in
22:26
Speaker 1: the original specs they created things well these days, Costa said, unworriedly,
22:31
Speaker 1: sucking on a bottle of the famous Himilian beer. When
22:34
Speaker 1: do you go to work? We're working right now, Neil
22:37
Speaker 1: told him, pulling a folder of papers out of a file.
22:41
Speaker 1: Before we left, I drew up a list of current
22:43
Speaker 1: magazines and newspapers I would need. You can start on these.
22:46
Speaker 1: I'll have a sampling program planned by the time you
22:49
Speaker 1: get back. Costa groaned hollowly and reached for the papers.
22:53
Speaker 1: Once the survey was in operation, it went ahead of
22:55
Speaker 1: its own momentum. Both men grabbed what food and sleep
22:58
Speaker 1: they could. The computers gulped down Neil's figures and spat
23:02
Speaker 1: out tape reels of answers that demanded even more facts.
23:06
Speaker 1: Costa and his unseen helpers were kept busy supplying the material.
23:10
Speaker 1: Only one thing broke the ordered labors of the week.
23:13
Speaker 1: Neil blinked twice at Costa before his equation fogged. Brain
23:17
Speaker 1: assimilated an immediate and personal factor. You've a bandage on
23:21
Speaker 1: your head, he said, A blood stained bandage. Uh. Little
23:26
Speaker 1: trouble in the streets, mobs, and that's an incredible feat
23:29
Speaker 1: of observation. Costa marveled. I had the feeling that if
23:32
Speaker 1: I came in here stark naked, you wouldn't notice it.
23:35
Speaker 1: I get involved, Neil said, dropping the papers, on the
23:39
Speaker 1: table and kneading a tired pharrow between his eyes, get
23:43
Speaker 1: wrapped up in the computation. Sorry, I tend to forget
23:46
Speaker 1: about people. Don't feel sorry for me. Costa said, You're
23:50
Speaker 1: right doing the job. I'm supposed to help you, not
23:53
Speaker 1: pose for the before picture in a home hospital ad. Anyway,
23:58
Speaker 1: how are we doing? Is there going to be a
23:59
Speaker 1: war or certainly seems like one brewing outside. I've seen
24:03
Speaker 1: two people lynched who were only suspected of being Earth.
24:06
Speaker 1: These looks don't mean a thing, Neil said, opening two beers.
24:10
Speaker 1: Remember the analogy of the pile. It boils liquid metal
24:13
Speaker 1: and cooks out energy from the infrared through to hard radiation.
24:17
Speaker 1: Yet it keeps on generating power at a nice steady rate.
24:20
Speaker 1: But your a bomb at zero minus one second looks
24:24
Speaker 1: as harmless as a fallen log. It's the K factor
24:27
Speaker 1: that counts, not surface appearances. This planet may look like
24:31
Speaker 1: a dictator's dream of glory, But as long as we're
24:34
Speaker 1: reading in the negative, things are fine. And how are things?
24:38
Speaker 1: How's our little K factor coming out soon? Neil said,
24:42
Speaker 1: pointing at the humming computer. Can't tell about it yet?
24:45
Speaker 1: You never can until the computation is complete. There's a
24:48
Speaker 1: temptation to try and guess from the first figures, but
24:51
Speaker 1: they're meaningless, like trying to predict the winner of a
24:54
Speaker 1: horse race by looking at the starters lined up at
24:56
Speaker 1: the gate. Lots of people think they can, but let them.
25:00
Speaker 1: There are few enough pleasures in this life without taking
25:03
Speaker 1: away all delusions behind them. The computer thunked and was
25:07
Speaker 1: suddenly still. This is it, Neil said, and pulled out
25:10
Speaker 1: the tape. He ran it quickly through his fingers, mumbling
25:13
Speaker 1: under his breath. Just once, he stopped and set some
25:16
Speaker 1: figures into his hand computer. The result flashed in the
25:19
Speaker 1: window and he stared at it, unmoving, good, bad? What
25:23
Speaker 1: is it? Neil raised his head and his eyes were
25:26
Speaker 1: ten years older. Positive, bad, much worse than it was
25:30
Speaker 1: when we left Earth. How much time do we have?
25:34
Speaker 1: Don't know for certain, Neil shrugged. I can set it
25:37
Speaker 1: up and get an approximation, but there is no definite
25:40
Speaker 1: point on the scale where war has to break out,
25:43
Speaker 1: Just a going and going until somewhere along the line
25:47
Speaker 1: I know gone, Costa said, Reaching for his gun, he
25:51
Speaker 1: slid it into his side pocket. Now it's time to
25:54
Speaker 1: stop looking and start doing what do I do going
25:58
Speaker 1: to kill war Marshal Loamy, Neil asked, distastefully. I thought
26:02
Speaker 1: we had settled that you can't stop a war by
26:04
Speaker 1: assassinating the top man. We also settled that something can
26:08
Speaker 1: be done to change the K factor. The gun is
26:11
Speaker 1: for my own protection while your radioing results back to
26:14
Speaker 1: Earth and they're feeling bad about it. I'm going to
26:16
Speaker 1: be doing something now, you tell me what that something is.
26:21
Speaker 1: This was a different man from the relaxed and quietly
26:24
Speaker 1: efficient Addeo Costa of the past week. All of his
26:27
Speaker 1: muscles were hard, with the restrained energy of an animal
26:30
Speaker 1: crouching to leap. The gun ready in his pocket had
26:33
Speaker 1: a suddenly new significance. Neil looked away, reaching around for words.
26:38
Speaker 1: This was all very alien to him, and suddenly a
26:40
Speaker 1: little frightening. It was one thing to work out a
26:42
Speaker 1: K problem in class and discuss the theory of correction.
26:46
Speaker 1: It was something entirely different to direct the operation. Well,
26:51
Speaker 1: Costa's voice knifed through his thoughts. You can, well, it's
26:55
Speaker 1: possible to change one of the peak population curves, isolate
26:58
Speaker 1: individuals and groups, and then affect status and location changes.
27:03
Speaker 1: You mean, get a lot of guys to take jobs
27:05
Speaker 1: in other towns through the commercial agents. Neil nodded too slow.
27:09
Speaker 1: Costa withered the idea with his voice. Fine in the
27:12
Speaker 1: long run, but of absolutely no value in an emergency.
27:15
Speaker 1: He began to pace back and forth too quickly. It
27:18
Speaker 1: was more of a bubbling over than a relaxation. Can't
27:21
Speaker 1: you isolate some recent key events that can be reversed?
27:25
Speaker 1: It's possible, Neil thought about it quickly. It wouldn't be
27:29
Speaker 1: a final answer, just a delaying action. That's good enough.
27:33
Speaker 1: Tell me what to do. Neil flipped through his books
27:36
Speaker 1: of notes, checking off the beta thirteens. These were the reinforcers,
27:40
Speaker 1: the individuals and groups who were K factor amplifiers. It
27:43
Speaker 1: was a long list, which he cut down quickly by
27:46
Speaker 1: crossing off the low increment editions of multiple groups. Even
27:50
Speaker 1: while the list was incomplete, Neil began to notice a pattern.
27:53
Speaker 1: It was an unlikely one, but it was there. He
27:56
Speaker 1: isolated the motivator and did a frequency check, then sat
28:00
Speaker 1: back and whistled softly. We have a powerhouse here, he said,
28:04
Speaker 1: flipping the paper across the table. Take this organization out
28:07
Speaker 1: of the equations and you might even knock us negative
28:10
Speaker 1: Society for the Protection of the Native born, Costa red.
28:15
Speaker 1: Doesn't sound like they're very important. Who or what are they?
28:19
Speaker 1: Proof positive of the law of averages. It's possible to
28:22
Speaker 1: be dealt a royal flush in a hand of cards,
28:25
Speaker 1: but it isn't very common. It's just as possible for
28:28
Speaker 1: a bunch of simpletons to set up an organization for
28:30
Speaker 1: one purpose and have it turn out to be a
28:33
Speaker 1: supercharged high frequency K factor amplifier. That's what's happened with
28:38
Speaker 1: this infernal SPNB, A cedy little social club dedicated to
28:43
Speaker 1: Jingoists with low IQs. With the war scare, they have
28:47
Speaker 1: managed to get a hold of a few credits. They
28:50
Speaker 1: have probably been telling the same inflated stories for years
28:53
Speaker 1: about the discrimination against natives of this fair planet, but
28:56
Speaker 1: no one really cared. Now they have a chance to
28:59
Speaker 1: get their news releases and faked picks out in quality,
29:04
Speaker 1: just at a time when the public is ripe for
29:06
Speaker 1: their brand of nonsense. Putting this bunch out of business
29:09
Speaker 1: will be a good day's work. Won't there be repercussions?
29:13
Speaker 1: Costa asked, if they are this important and throw so
29:16
Speaker 1: much weight around, won't it look suspicious if they are
29:19
Speaker 1: suddenly shut up, like an obvious move by the enemy.
29:23
Speaker 1: Not at all. That might be true. If, for instance,
29:27
Speaker 1: you blew up the headquarters of the War Party, it
29:29
Speaker 1: would certainly be taken as an aggressive move. But no
29:32
Speaker 1: one really knows or cares about this society of the
29:35
Speaker 1: half baked native born. There might be reaction and interest
29:39
Speaker 1: if attention was drawn to them, but if some accident
29:42
Speaker 1: or active nature were to put them out of business,
29:45
Speaker 1: that would be the end of it. Costa was snapping
29:48
Speaker 1: his lighter on and off as he listened to Neil
29:50
Speaker 1: staring at the flame. He closed it and held it up.
29:54
Speaker 1: I believe in accidents. I believe that even in our
29:57
Speaker 1: fireproof age, fires still occur. Building still burned down. And
30:01
Speaker 1: if a burnt building just happens to be occupied by
30:04
Speaker 1: the spn B, just one tenant of many, and their
30:08
Speaker 1: offices and records were destroyed, that would be of very
30:11
Speaker 1: little interest to anyone except the fire Brigade. You're a
30:14
Speaker 1: born criminal, Neil told him. I'm glad we're on the
30:17
Speaker 1: same side. That's your department, and I'll leave it to you.
30:21
Speaker 1: I'll just listen for the news flashes. Meanwhile, I have
30:24
Speaker 1: one little errand to take care of the words, stopped Costa,
30:28
Speaker 1: who was almost out the door. He turned stiffly to
30:31
Speaker 1: look at Neil putting papers into an envelope. Yet Costas
30:34
Speaker 1: spoke naturally, letting none of his feelings through into his voice.
30:38
Speaker 1: Where are you going to see Hengley the planetary operator here?
30:42
Speaker 1: Abravanel told me to stay away from him, to run
30:45
Speaker 1: an entirely new basic survey. Well, we've done that now
30:49
Speaker 1: and pinpointed some of the trouble areas as well. I
30:52
Speaker 1: can stop feeling guilty about poaching another man's territory and
30:55
Speaker 1: let him know what's going on. No, stay away from
30:59
Speaker 1: hang angly, Costa said, that's the last thing in the
31:02
Speaker 1: world we want to do is to be seen near him.
31:05
Speaker 1: There's a chance that he well might be compromised. What
31:10
Speaker 1: do you mean, Neil snapped, Hangley's a friend of mine,
31:13
Speaker 1: a graduate. He might also be surrounded ten deep by
31:17
Speaker 1: the secret police. Did you stop to think about that?
31:21
Speaker 1: Neil hadn't thought about it, and his anger vanished when
31:23
Speaker 1: he did. Costa drove the point home. Societics has been
31:27
Speaker 1: a well kept secret for over two centuries. It may
31:30
Speaker 1: still be a secret, or bits of it might have
31:32
Speaker 1: leaked out. And even if the Himalians know nothing about societics,
31:36
Speaker 1: they have certainly heard of espionage. They know the UN
31:39
Speaker 1: has agents on their world. They might think Hengley is
31:42
Speaker 1: one of them. This is all speculation, of course, but
31:45
Speaker 1: we do have one fact. This society of native boobs
31:49
Speaker 1: we turned up. We had no trouble finding them. If
31:53
Speaker 1: Hengley had reliable field men, he should know about them too.
31:57
Speaker 1: The only reason he hasn't is because he is getting
32:00
Speaker 1: the information, which means he's compromised. Reaching back for a chair,
32:05
Speaker 1: Neil fell heavily into it. You're right, of course, I
32:09
Speaker 1: never realized. Good Costa said we'll do something to help
32:13
Speaker 1: Hangley tomorrow, but this operation comes first. Sit tight, get
32:18
Speaker 1: some rest, and don't open the door for anyone except me.
32:22
Speaker 1: It had been a long job and a tiring one,
32:25
Speaker 1: but it was almost over. Neil allowed himself the luxury
32:28
Speaker 1: of a long yawn, then shuffled over to the case
32:31
Speaker 1: of rations they had brought. He stripped the seal from
32:34
Speaker 1: something optimistically labeled chicken dinner it tasted just like the
32:38
Speaker 1: algae it had been made of, and boiled some coffee
32:40
Speaker 1: while it was heating. All the time, he was doing
32:43
Speaker 1: these prosaic tasks. His mind was turning an indigestible fact
32:47
Speaker 1: over and over. It wasn't a conscious process, but it
32:50
Speaker 1: was nevertheless going on. The automatic mechanism of his brain
32:54
Speaker 1: ran it back and forth like a half heard tune
32:56
Speaker 1: searching for its name. Neil was tired, or he would
32:59
Speaker 1: have reacted sooner. The idea finally penetrated. One fact he
33:03
Speaker 1: had taken for granted was an obvious impossibility. The coffee
33:08
Speaker 1: splashed to the floor as he jumped to his feet.
33:11
Speaker 1: It's wrong. It has to be wrong, he said aloud,
33:14
Speaker 1: grabbing up the papers. Computations and graphs dropped and were
33:17
Speaker 1: trampled into the spilled coffee. When he finally found the
33:21
Speaker 1: one he wanted, his hands were shaking as he flipped
33:23
Speaker 1: through it. The synopsis of Hengley's reports for the past
33:26
Speaker 1: five years the gradual rise and fall of the K
33:28
Speaker 1: factor from month to month. There were no sharp brakes
33:32
Speaker 1: in the curve or gaps in the supporting equations. Sosiatics
33:36
Speaker 1: isn't an exact science, but it's exact enough to know
33:39
Speaker 1: when it is working with incomplete or false information. If
33:42
Speaker 1: Hangley had been kept in the dark about the SPNB.
33:46
Speaker 1: He would also have been misinformed about other factors. This
33:50
Speaker 1: kind of alteration of survey would have to show in
33:53
Speaker 1: the equations it didn't. Time was running out and Neil
33:58
Speaker 1: had to act. But what to do. He must warn
34:01
Speaker 1: a dayo Costa and the records here had to be protected,
34:05
Speaker 1: or better yet destroyed. There was a power in these
34:08
Speaker 1: machines and charts that couldn't be allowed to fall into
34:11
Speaker 1: nationalist hands. But what could be done about it? In
34:14
Speaker 1: all the welter of equipment and containers, there was one solid,
34:17
Speaker 1: heavy box that he had never opened. It belonged to Costa,
34:21
Speaker 1: and the un man had never unlocked it in his presence.
34:25
Speaker 1: Neil looked at the heavy clasps on it and felt defeat.
34:28
Speaker 1: But when he pulled at the lid, wondering what to
34:30
Speaker 1: do next, it fell open. It hadn't been sealed. Costa
34:35
Speaker 1: wasn't the kind of man who did things by accident.
34:37
Speaker 1: He had looked forward to the time when Neil might
34:40
Speaker 1: need what was in the box and had it ready
34:43
Speaker 1: Inside was just what Neil expected. Grenades, guns, some smoothly
34:48
Speaker 1: polished devices that held an aura of violence. Looking at them,
34:52
Speaker 1: Neil had an overwhelming sensation of defeat. His life was
34:55
Speaker 1: dedicated to peace and the furthering of peace. He hated
34:58
Speaker 1: the violence that seemed inborn in man, and detested all
35:01
Speaker 1: the hypocritical rationalizations, such as the ends justifying the means.
35:06
Speaker 1: All of his training and personal inclinations were against it,
35:10
Speaker 1: and he reached down and removed the blunt black gun.
35:14
Speaker 1: There was another thing he recognized in the compact arsenal,
35:18
Speaker 1: a time bomb. There had been lectures on this mechanism
35:21
Speaker 1: in school, since the fact was clearly recognized that a
35:24
Speaker 1: time might come when equipment had to be destroyed rather
35:26
Speaker 1: than fall into the wrong hands. He had never seen
35:29
Speaker 1: one since, but he had learned the lesson well. Neil
35:33
Speaker 1: pushed the open chest nearer to his instruments and set
35:36
Speaker 1: the bomb dial for fifteen minutes. He slipped the gun
35:40
Speaker 1: into his pocket, started the fuse, and carefully locked the door.
35:44
Speaker 1: When he left, the bridges were burned. Now he had
35:47
Speaker 1: to find a dao costa. This entire operation was outside
35:51
Speaker 1: of his experience and knowledge. He could think of no
35:54
Speaker 1: plan that could possibly make things easier or safer. All
35:58
Speaker 1: he could do was head for the the offices of
36:00
Speaker 1: the Society of the Protection of the native born and
36:03
Speaker 1: hoped he could catch a dayoh before he ran into
36:06
Speaker 1: any trouble. Two blocks away from the address, he heard
36:09
Speaker 1: the sirens. Trying to act as natural as the other pedestrians,
36:12
Speaker 1: he turned to look as the armored cars and trucks
36:15
Speaker 1: hurtled by, packed with armed police, Their sirens and revolving
36:19
Speaker 1: lights cleared a path through the dark streets. Neil kept walking,
36:23
Speaker 1: following the cars. Now the street he wanted to go
36:26
Speaker 1: into was cordoned off. Showing more than a normal interest
36:30
Speaker 1: would have been a giveaway, he let himself be hurried
36:33
Speaker 1: past with no more than a glance. Down the block
36:35
Speaker 1: with the other pedestrians, cars and men were clustered around
36:39
Speaker 1: a doorway that Neil felt sure was number two sixty five,
36:42
Speaker 1: his destination. Something was very wrong. Had Costo walked into
36:47
Speaker 1: a trap or tripped an alarm, it didn't really matter which.
36:51
Speaker 1: Either way, the balloon had gone up. Neil walked on slowly, painfully,
36:56
Speaker 1: aware of his own inadequacy in dealing with the situation.
36:59
Speaker 1: It was a time for action, but what action he
37:02
Speaker 1: hadn't the slightest idea where Costa was or how he
37:05
Speaker 1: could be of help to him. Half way down the
37:08
Speaker 1: block there was a dark mouth of an alleyway unguarded.
37:11
Speaker 1: Without stopping to think, Neil turned into it. It would
37:14
Speaker 1: bring him closer to the building. Perhaps Costa was still
37:17
Speaker 1: trapped in there. He could get in help him. The
37:20
Speaker 1: back of two sixty five was quiet, with no hint
37:24
Speaker 1: of the activity on the other side of the building.
37:26
Speaker 1: Neil had counted carefully and was sure he had the
37:29
Speaker 1: right one. It was completely dark in the unlit alley,
37:32
Speaker 1: but he found a recessed door by touch. The chances
37:36
Speaker 1: were it was locked, but he moved into the alcove
37:39
Speaker 1: and leaned his weight against it, pulling at the handle
37:42
Speaker 1: just in case. Nothing moved an inch behind his back.
37:45
Speaker 1: The alley filled with light, washed with it, eye burning
37:49
Speaker 1: and strong. His eyes snapped shut, but he forced them
37:52
Speaker 1: open again, blinking against the pane. There were searchlights at
37:56
Speaker 1: each end of the alley, sealing it off. He couldn't
37:58
Speaker 1: get out. In the instant before the fear hit him,
38:02
Speaker 1: he saw the blood spots on the ground. There were
38:04
Speaker 1: three of them, large and glistening, redly wet. They extended
38:08
Speaker 1: in a straight line away from him, pointing towards the
38:10
Speaker 1: gaping entrance of a cellar. When the lights went out,
38:13
Speaker 1: Neil dived headlong towards the cracked and filthy pavement. The
38:17
Speaker 1: darkness meant that the police were moving slowly towards him
38:20
Speaker 1: from both ends of the alley, trapping him in between.
38:23
Speaker 1: There was nothing doubtful about the fate of an armed
38:25
Speaker 1: earth man caught here. He didn't care. Neil's fear was gone.
38:29
Speaker 1: He just didn't have time to think about it. His
38:31
Speaker 1: long shot had paid off, and there was still a
38:33
Speaker 1: chance he could get Costa out of the trap he
38:35
Speaker 1: had let him walk into. The lights had burned an
38:38
Speaker 1: afterimage into his retina before it faded. He reached out
38:42
Speaker 1: and felt his fingers slide across the dusty ground into
38:44
Speaker 1: a patch of wetness. He scrubbed at it with his sleeves,
38:47
Speaker 1: soaking up the blood. With his other hand, he pushed
38:50
Speaker 1: together a pile of dust and dirt, spreading it over
38:53
Speaker 1: the stain. As soon as he was sure the stain
38:55
Speaker 1: was covered, he slid forward, groping for the second tell
38:58
Speaker 1: tale splash. Time was his enemy, and he had no
39:01
Speaker 1: way to measure it. He could have been lying in
39:03
Speaker 1: the rubble of that alley for an hour or a
39:06
Speaker 1: second what was to be done had to be done
39:08
Speaker 1: at once without a sound. There were silent, deadly men
39:12
Speaker 1: coming towards him through the darkness. After the second smear
39:15
Speaker 1: was covered, there was a drawn out moment of fear
39:18
Speaker 1: when he couldn't find the third and last. His fingers
39:21
Speaker 1: touched it finally, much farther on than he had expected.
39:24
Speaker 1: Time had certainly run out, yet he forced himself to
39:27
Speaker 1: do as good a job here as he had with
39:29
Speaker 1: the other two. Only when it was dried and covered
39:32
Speaker 1: did he allow himself to slide forward into the cellar entrance.
39:36
Speaker 1: Everything was going too fast. He had time for a
39:39
Speaker 1: single deep breath before the shriek of a whistle paralyzed
39:42
Speaker 1: him again. Footsteps slapped towards him, and one of the
39:46
Speaker 1: searchlights burned with light. The footsteps speeded up, and the
39:49
Speaker 1: man ran by, close enough for Neil to touch if
39:52
Speaker 1: he had reached out a hand. His clothing was shapeless
39:55
Speaker 1: and torn, his head and face thick with hair. That
39:58
Speaker 1: was all Neil had time to see before the guns
40:01
Speaker 1: roared and burned the life from the runner. Some derelict
40:04
Speaker 1: sleeping in the alley who had paid with his life
40:07
Speaker 1: for being in the wrong spot at the wrong time,
40:09
Speaker 1: but his death had brought Neil a little more time.
40:12
Speaker 1: He turned and looked into the barrel of a gun.
40:15
Speaker 1: Shock after shock had destroyed his capacity for fear. There
40:19
Speaker 1: was nothing left that could move him, even his own death.
40:22
Speaker 1: He looked quietly, dully at the muzzle of the gun
40:26
Speaker 1: with slow determination. His mind turned over, and he finally
40:29
Speaker 1: realized that this time there was nothing to fear. It's me, Adao,
40:33
Speaker 1: he whispered. You'll be all right now, ah, it is you.
40:38
Speaker 1: The voice came softly out of the darkness. The gun
40:40
Speaker 1: barrel wavered and sank. Lift me up so I can
40:43
Speaker 1: get at this door. Can't seem to stand too well
40:46
Speaker 1: any more. Neil reached down, found Costa's shoulders and slowly
40:50
Speaker 1: dragged him to his feet. His eyes were adjusting to
40:53
Speaker 1: the glare above them now, and he could make out
40:55
Speaker 1: the gleam of reflected light on the metal and cost
40:57
Speaker 1: His fingers. The u n man's on hand was clutched
41:01
Speaker 1: tightly to his waist. The gun had vanished. The metal
41:04
Speaker 1: device wasn't a key, but Costa used it like one.
41:07
Speaker 1: It turned in the lock and the door swung open
41:10
Speaker 1: under their weight. Neil half carried half dragged the other
41:13
Speaker 1: man's dead weight through it, dropping him to the floor inside.
41:17
Speaker 1: Before he closed the door, he reached down and felt
41:19
Speaker 1: a great pool of blood outside. There was no time
41:22
Speaker 1: to do a perfect job. The hard footsteps were coming
41:25
Speaker 1: just a few yards away. His sleeves were sodden with
41:28
Speaker 1: blood as he blotted, then pushed rubble into the stain.
41:32
Speaker 1: He pulled back inside, and the door closed with only
41:34
Speaker 1: the slightest click. I don't know how you managed it,
41:37
Speaker 1: but I'm glad you found me, Costa said. There was
41:40
Speaker 1: weakness as well as silence in his whisper. It was
41:43
Speaker 1: only chance I found you, Neil said, bitterly, but criminal
41:46
Speaker 1: stupidity on my part that I let you walk into
41:48
Speaker 1: this trap. Don't worry about it. I knew what I
41:51
Speaker 1: was getting into, but I still had to go spring
41:54
Speaker 1: the trap to see if it was a trap. You
41:57
Speaker 1: suspected then, that, Hengly was. Neil couldn't finish the sentence.
42:01
Speaker 1: He knew what he wanted to say, but the idea
42:03
Speaker 1: was too unbearable to put into words. Costa had no
42:07
Speaker 1: such compunction. Yes, dear Hengly, graduate of the University and
42:11
Speaker 1: practitioner of sociatics, A trader, a warmonger, worse than any
42:16
Speaker 1: of his predecessors, because he knew just what to sell
42:18
Speaker 1: and how to sell it. It's never happened before, but
42:21
Speaker 1: there was always the chance the weight of responsibility was
42:24
Speaker 1: too much. He gave in. Costa's voice had died away,
42:28
Speaker 1: almost to a whisper. Then it was suddenly loud again,
42:31
Speaker 1: no louder than normal speaking volume, but sounding like a
42:34
Speaker 1: shout in the secret basement. Neil, it's all right, take
42:37
Speaker 1: it easy, Nothing is all right. Don't you realize that
42:41
Speaker 1: I've been sending my reports back so that you in
42:43
Speaker 1: and your sosiatics people will know how to straighten this
42:46
Speaker 1: mess out. But Hangley can turn this world upside down
42:50
Speaker 1: and might even get a shooting war going before they
42:52
Speaker 1: get here. I'm out of it, but I can tell
42:54
Speaker 1: you who to contact, people who will help hold down
42:57
Speaker 1: the K factor. That wouldn't do any good, Neil said quietly.
43:01
Speaker 1: The whole thing is past the patch and polished stage now. Besides,
43:05
Speaker 1: I blew the whole works up my machines and records.
43:07
Speaker 1: You're you're a fool. For the first time, there was
43:10
Speaker 1: pain and Costa's voice. No, I was before, but not anymore.
43:15
Speaker 1: As long as I thought it was a normal problem,
43:18
Speaker 1: I was being outguessed at every turn. You must understand
43:21
Speaker 1: the ramifications of societics. To a good operator, there is
43:24
Speaker 1: no interrelationship that cannot be uncovered. Hengley would be certain
43:28
Speaker 1: to keep his eyes open for another field check. Our
43:31
Speaker 1: kind of operation is very easy to spot if you
43:34
Speaker 1: know where and how to look. The act of getting
43:37
Speaker 1: information implies contact of some kind. That contact can be detected.
43:41
Speaker 1: He's had our location marked and has been sitting tight
43:44
Speaker 1: buying time. But our time ran out when you showed them.
43:47
Speaker 1: We were ready to fight back. That's why I destroyed
43:50
Speaker 1: our setup and cut our trail. But then we're defenseless.
43:55
Speaker 1: What can we possibly do? Neil knew the answer, but
43:59
Speaker 1: he hesitated to put it into words. It would be final.
44:02
Speaker 1: Then he suddenly realized he had forgotten about Costa's wound.
44:06
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, I forgot about you being hurt. What can
44:08
Speaker 1: I do? Nothing? Costa snapped. I put a field dressing on.
44:12
Speaker 1: That'll do answer my question? What is there left? What
44:16
Speaker 1: can be done? Now? I'll have to kill Hengley. That
44:20
Speaker 1: will set things right until the team gets here. But
44:23
Speaker 1: what good will that accomplish? Costa asked, trying to see
44:26
Speaker 1: the other man in the darkness of the cellar. You
44:28
Speaker 1: told me yourself that a war couldn't be averted by assassination.
44:32
Speaker 1: No one individual means that much only in the normal situation,
44:36
Speaker 1: Neil explained. You must look at the power struggle between
44:39
Speaker 1: planets as a kind of celestial chess game. It has
44:42
Speaker 1: its own rules. When I talked about individuals earlier, I
44:46
Speaker 1: was talking about pieces on this chessboard. What I'm proposing
44:49
Speaker 1: now is a little more dramatic. I'm going to win
44:51
Speaker 1: the chess game in a slightly more unorthodox way. I'm
44:55
Speaker 1: going to shoot the other chess player. There was silence
44:58
Speaker 1: for a long moment, broken only by the soft sigh
45:01
Speaker 1: of their breathing. Then Costa stirred, and there was the
45:04
Speaker 1: sound of metal clinking slightly on the door. It's really
45:08
Speaker 1: my job, Costa said, but I'm no good for it.
45:10
Speaker 1: You're right, you'll have to go, but I can help
45:13
Speaker 1: you plan it so you'll be able to get to Hengley.
45:16
Speaker 1: You might even stand a better chance than me, because
45:18
Speaker 1: you're so obviously an amateur. Now listen carefully, because we
45:22
Speaker 1: haven't much time. Neil didn't argue He knew what needed doing,
45:26
Speaker 1: but Costa could tell him how best to go about it.
45:28
Speaker 1: The instructions were easy to memorize, and he put the
45:31
Speaker 1: weapons away as he was told. Once you're clear of
45:34
Speaker 1: this building, you'll have to get cleaned up, Costa said,
45:36
Speaker 1: but that's the only thing you should stop for. Get
45:39
Speaker 1: to Hangley while he is still rattled. Catch him off
45:42
Speaker 1: guard as much as possible. Then after you finish with him,
45:45
Speaker 1: dig yourself in, stay hidden at least three days before
45:49
Speaker 1: you try to make any contacts. Things should have quieted
45:51
Speaker 1: down a bit by then. I don't like leaving you here,
45:54
Speaker 1: Neil said. It's the best way, as well as being
45:57
Speaker 1: the only way. I'll be safe in that I've a
46:00
Speaker 1: nice little puncture in me, but there's enough medication to
46:03
Speaker 1: see me through. If I'm going to hold up, I'll
46:06
Speaker 1: hole up here. I'll be back to take care of you.
46:09
Speaker 1: Costa didn't answer him. There was nothing more to say.
46:12
Speaker 1: They shook hands in the darkness, and Neil crawled away.
46:16
Speaker 1: There was little difficulty in finding the front door of
46:18
Speaker 1: the building, but Neil hesitated before he opened it. Costa
46:22
Speaker 1: had been sure Neil could get away without being noticed,
46:24
Speaker 1: but he didn't feel so sure of himself. There certainly
46:27
Speaker 1: would be plenty of police in the streets even here.
46:30
Speaker 1: Only as he eased the door did he understand why
46:33
Speaker 1: Costa had been so positive about this Gunfire hammered somewhere
46:38
Speaker 1: behind him other guns, answered, Costa must have had another gun.
46:42
Speaker 1: He had planned it this way, and the best thing
46:45
Speaker 1: Neil could do was not think about it and go
46:47
Speaker 1: ahead with the plan. A car wind by in the roadway.
46:51
Speaker 1: As soon as it had passed, Neil slipped out and
46:53
Speaker 1: crossed the empty street to the nearest Mono sub entrance.
46:57
Speaker 1: Most of the stations had valet machines. Was less than
47:00
Speaker 1: an hour later when he reached Hengley's apartment, Washed shaved
47:04
Speaker 1: and with his clothes cleaned, Neil felt a little more
47:07
Speaker 1: sure of himself. No one had stopped him or even
47:10
Speaker 1: noticed him. The lobby had been empty, and the automatic
47:13
Speaker 1: elevator left him off at the right floor when he
47:15
Speaker 1: gave it Hengley's name. Now facing the featureless door, he
47:19
Speaker 1: had a sharp knife of fear. It was too easy.
47:22
Speaker 1: He reached out slowly and tried the handle. The door
47:25
Speaker 1: was unlocked. Taking a deep breath, he opened it and
47:28
Speaker 1: stepped inside It was a large room, but unlit. An
47:33
Speaker 1: open door at the other end had a dim light
47:35
Speaker 1: shining through it. Neil started that way and pain burst
47:38
Speaker 1: in his head, spinning him down face forward. He never
47:41
Speaker 1: quite lost consciousness, but details were vague in his memory.
47:44
Speaker 1: When full awareness returned, he realized that the lights were
47:47
Speaker 1: on in the room. He was lying on his back,
47:49
Speaker 1: looking up at them. Two men stood next to him,
47:52
Speaker 1: staring down at him from above the perspective columns of
47:55
Speaker 1: their legs. One held a short metal bar that he
47:58
Speaker 1: kept slapping into his open palm. The other man was Hengley.
48:02
Speaker 1: Not very friendly for an old classmate, he said, holding
48:06
Speaker 1: out Neil's gun. Now get inside, I want to talk
48:09
Speaker 1: to you. Neil rolled over painfully and crawled to his feet.
48:13
Speaker 1: His head throbbed with pain, but he tried to ignore it.
48:16
Speaker 1: As he stood up, his hand brushed his ankle. The
48:18
Speaker 1: tiny gun Costa had given him was still in the
48:21
Speaker 1: top of his shoe. Perhaps Hengley wasn't being as smart
48:24
Speaker 1: as he should. I can take care of him, Hengley
48:27
Speaker 1: said to the man with the metal rod. He's the
48:29
Speaker 1: only one left now, so you can get some sleep.
48:32
Speaker 1: See you early in the morning. Though the man nodded
48:34
Speaker 1: agreement and left slouched in the chair. Neil looked forward
48:38
Speaker 1: to a certain pleasure in killing Hengley. Costa was dead,
48:42
Speaker 1: and this man was responsible for his death. It wouldn't
48:45
Speaker 1: even be like killing a friend. Hengley was very different
48:48
Speaker 1: from the man he had known. He had put on
48:50
Speaker 1: a lot of weight and affected a thick beard and
48:52
Speaker 1: flowing mustache. There was something jovial and paternal about him
48:56
Speaker 1: until you looked into his eyes. Neil slumped forward, worn out,
49:00
Speaker 1: letting his fingers fall naturally next to the gun in
49:03
Speaker 1: his shoe. Hengley couldn't see his hand. The desk was
49:06
Speaker 1: in the way. All Neil had to do was draw
49:09
Speaker 1: and fire. You can pull out the gun, Hengley said,
49:13
Speaker 1: with a grim smile, but don't try to shoot it.
49:15
Speaker 1: He had his own gun now aimed directly at Neil,
49:18
Speaker 1: leaning forward, he watched dis Neil carefully pulled out the
49:21
Speaker 1: tiny weapon and threw it across the room. That's better,
49:24
Speaker 1: he said, placing his own gun on the desk where
49:27
Speaker 1: he could reach it easily. Now we can talk. There's
49:30
Speaker 1: nothing I have to say to you, Hengley. Neil leaned
49:33
Speaker 1: back in the chair, exhausted. You're a traitor, Hengley hammered
49:37
Speaker 1: the desk in sudden anger and shouted, don't talk to
49:40
Speaker 1: me of treachery, my little man of peace, creeping up
49:42
Speaker 1: with a gun to kill a friend? Is that peaceful?
49:45
Speaker 1: Where are the ethos of humanism? Now? You were very
49:48
Speaker 1: fond of them when we were in the university. Neil
49:51
Speaker 1: didn't want to listen to the words. He thought instead
49:53
Speaker 1: of how right Costa had been. He was dead, but
49:56
Speaker 1: this was still his operation. It was going according to plan.
50:00
Speaker 1: Walk right in there. Costa had said, he won't kill you,
50:03
Speaker 1: not at first. At least he's the loneliest man in
50:06
Speaker 1: the universe because he's given up one world for another
50:08
Speaker 1: that he hasn't gained yet. There will be no one
50:11
Speaker 1: he can confide in. He'll know you have come to
50:14
Speaker 1: kill him, but he won't be able to resist talking
50:16
Speaker 1: to you first, particularly if you make it easy for
50:19
Speaker 1: him to defeat you. Not too easy. He must feel
50:22
Speaker 1: he is outthinking you. He'll have a gun for him
50:24
Speaker 1: to take away, but that will be too obvious. This
50:27
Speaker 1: small gun will be hidden as well, and when he
50:30
Speaker 1: finds that too, he should be taken off his guard.
50:33
Speaker 1: Not much, but enough for you to kill him. Don't wait,
50:37
Speaker 1: do it at the first opportunity. Out of the corner
50:40
Speaker 1: of his eye, Neil could see the radiophone clipped to
50:42
Speaker 1: the front of his jacket. It was slightly tarnished, looking
50:46
Speaker 1: like any one of ten thousand in daily use, almost
50:49
Speaker 1: a duplicate of the one Hengley war, a universal symbol
50:52
Speaker 1: of the age, like the keys and small change in
50:55
Speaker 1: his pockets. Only Neil's phone was a deadly weapon, prada
51:00
Speaker 1: of a research into sudden death that he had never
51:02
Speaker 1: been aware of before. All he had to do was
51:05
Speaker 1: get it near Hengley. The mechanism had been armed when
51:08
Speaker 1: he put it on. It had a range of two feet.
51:11
Speaker 1: As soon as it was that far from any part
51:12
Speaker 1: of Hengley's body, it would be actuated. Can I ask
51:16
Speaker 1: you a question, Hengley? His words cut loudly through the
51:19
Speaker 1: run of the other man's speech. Hengley frowned at the interruption,
51:23
Speaker 1: then nodded permission, go ahead. He said, what would you
51:26
Speaker 1: like to know? The obvious? Why did you do it?
51:29
Speaker 1: Change sides? I mean, give up a positive work for this,
51:32
Speaker 1: this negative corruption. That's how much you know about it.
51:36
Speaker 1: Hengley was shouting, Now, positive, negative war, peace, those are
51:41
Speaker 1: just words. And it took me years to find it out.
51:43
Speaker 1: What could be more positive than making something of my
51:46
Speaker 1: life and of this planet. At the same time, it's
51:49
Speaker 1: in my power to do it, and I've done it. Power.
51:53
Speaker 1: Perhaps that's the key word, Neil said, suddenly, very tired.
51:56
Speaker 1: We have the stars now, but we have carried with
51:59
Speaker 1: us our little person lusts and emotions. There's nothing wrong
52:02
Speaker 1: with that, I suppose, as long as we keep them personal.
52:05
Speaker 1: It's when we start inflicting them on others the trouble starts. Well,
52:09
Speaker 1: it's over now, at least this time. With a single
52:12
Speaker 1: easy motion, he unclipped the radiophone and flipped it across
52:15
Speaker 1: the desk towards Hengley. Goodbye, he said. The tiny mechanism
52:20
Speaker 1: clattered on to the desk, and Hengley leaped back, shouting hoarsely.
52:23
Speaker 1: He pulled the gun up and tried to aim at
52:25
Speaker 1: the radio phone, and it kneel. At the same time.
52:28
Speaker 1: It was too late to do either. There was a
52:30
Speaker 1: brief humming noise from the phone. Neil jerked in his chair.
52:33
Speaker 1: It felt as if a slight electric shock had passed
52:36
Speaker 1: through him. He had felt only a microscopic percentage of
52:39
Speaker 1: the radiation. Hengley got it all the actuated field of
52:43
Speaker 1: the device had scanned his nervous system, measured and tested
52:46
Speaker 1: it precisely, then adjusted itself to the exact micro frequency
52:49
Speaker 1: that carried the message in his efferent nerve system. Once
52:53
Speaker 1: the adjustment had been made, the charged condensers had released
52:56
Speaker 1: their full blasts of energy on that frequency. The results
52:59
Speaker 1: were horribly dramatic. Every efferent neuron in his system carried
53:03
Speaker 1: the message full power. Every muscle in his body responded
53:06
Speaker 1: with a contraction of full intensity. Neil closed his eyes,
53:11
Speaker 1: covered them, turned away, gasping. It couldn't be watched. And
53:15
Speaker 1: epileptic in a seizure can break the bones in a
53:17
Speaker 1: leg or arm by simultaneous contraction of opposing muscles. When
53:21
Speaker 1: all the opposed muscles of Hangley's body did this, the
53:25
Speaker 1: results were horrible, beyond imagining. When Neil recovered a measure
53:29
Speaker 1: of sanity, he was in the street running. He slowed
53:32
Speaker 1: to a walk and looked around. It was just dawn
53:35
Speaker 1: and the streets were empty. Ahead was the glowing entrance
53:38
Speaker 1: of a monotube, and he headed for it. The danger
53:41
Speaker 1: was over now, as long as he was careful. Pausing
53:44
Speaker 1: on the top step, he breathed the fresh air of
53:47
Speaker 1: the new morning. There was a sighing below as an
53:50
Speaker 1: early train pulled into the station. The dawn lit sky
53:53
Speaker 1: was the color of blood. Blood, he said aloud, then
53:57
Speaker 1: do we have to keep killing? Is there another way?
54:01
Speaker 1: He started, guiltily as his voice echoed in the empty street,
54:04
Speaker 1: but no one had heard him. Quickly, two at a time,
54:08
Speaker 1: he ran down the steps. End of The k Factor
54:16
Speaker 1: by Harry Harrison