"A. E. Van Vogt - Concealment (2)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Van Vogt A E)

The third sun was farther away. She had the speed stepped up to twenty light days a minute-and received a shocking reminder as the ship bludgeoned into a small storm. It must have been small because the shuddering of metal had barely begun when it ended.
'There has been some talk,' she said afterward to the thirty captains assembled in the captains' pool, 'that we return to the galaxy and ask for an expedition that will uncover these hidden rascals.
'One of the more whining of the reports that have come to my ears suggests that, after all, we were on our way home when we made our discovery, and that our ten years in the Cloud have earned us a rest.'
Her gray eyes flashed; her voice grew icy: 'You may be sure that those who sponsor such defeatism are not the ones who would have to make the personal report of failure to his maj


esty's government. Therefore, let me assure the faint hearts and the homesick that we shall remain another ten years if it should prove necessary. Tell the officers and crew to act accordingly. That is all.'

Back in the main bridge, she saw that there was still no call from Psychology House. There was a hot remnant of anger and impatience in her, as she dialed the number. But she controlled herself as the distinguished face of Lieutenant Neslor appeared on the plate. She said then:
'What is happening, lieutenant? I am anxiously waiting for further information from the prisoner.'
The woman psychologist shook her head. 'Nothing to report.'
'Nothing!' Her amazement was harsh in her voice.
'I have asked twice,' was the answer, 'for permission to break his mind. You must have known that I would not lightly suggest such a drastic step.'
'Oh!' She had known, but the disapproval of the people at home, the necessity for accounting for any amoral action against individuals, had made refusal an automatic actioii Now- Before she could speak, the psychologist went on:
'I have made some attempts to condition him in his sleep, stressing the uselessness of resisting Earth when eventual discovery is sure. But that has only convinced him that his earlier revelations were-of no benefit to us.'
The leader found her voice: 'Do you really mean, lieutenant, that you have no plan other than violence? Nothing?'
In the astroplate, the image head made a negative movement. The psychologist said simply:
'An 8oo IQ resistance in a 167 IQ brain is something new in my experience.'
The woman felt a great wonder. 'I can't understand it,' she complained. 'I have a feeling we've missed some vital clue. Just like that we run into a weather station in a system of fifty million suns, a station in which there is a human being who, contrary to all the laws of self-preservation, immediately kills himself to prevent himself from falling into our hands.
'The weather station itself is an old model galactic affair, which shows no improvements after fifteen thousand years; and yet the vastness of the time elapsed, the caliber of the brains in-


volved suggest that all the obvious changes should have been made.
'And the man's name, Watcher, is so typical of the ancient prespaceship method of calling names on Earth according to the trade. It is possible that even the sun, where he is watching, is a service heritage of his family. There's something-depressing- here somewhere that-'
She broke off, frowning: 'What is your plan?' After a minute, she nodded. 'I see . . . very well, bring him to one of the bedrooms in the main bridge. And forget that part about making up one of our strong-arm girls to look like me. I'll do everything that's necessary. Tomorrow. Fine.'

Coldly she sat watching the prisoner's image in the plate. The man, Watcher, lay in bed, an almost motionless figure, eyes closed, but his face curiously tense. He looked, she thought, like someone discovering that for the first time in four days, the invisible force lines that had bound him had been withdrawn.
Beside her, the woman psychologist hissed: 'He's still suspicious, and will probably remain so until you partially ease his mind. His general reactions will become more and more concentrated. Every minute that passes will increase his conviction that he will have only one chance to destroy the ship, and that he must be decisively ruthless regardless of risk.
'I have been conditioning him the past ten hours to resistance to us in a very subtle fashion. You will see in a moment .
nh-h!'
Watcher was sitting up in bed. He poked a leg from under the sheets, then slid forward, and onto his feet. It was an oddly powerful movement.
He stood for a moment, a tall figure in gray pajamas. He had evidently been planning his first actions because, after a swift look at the door, he walked over to a set of drawers built into one wall, tugged at them tentatively, and then jerked them open with an effortless strength, snapping their locks one by one.
Her own gasp was only an echo of the gasp of Lieutenant Neslor.
'Good heavens!' the psychologist said finally. 'Don't ask me to explain how he's breaking those metal locks. Strength must be a by-product of his Dellian training. Noble lady-'


Her tone was anxious; and the grand captain looked at her. 'Yes?'
'Do you think, under the circumstances, you should play such a personal role in his subjection? His strength is obviously such that he can break the body of anyone aboard-'
She was cut off by an imperious gesture. 'I cannot,' said the Right Honourable Gloria Cecily, 'risk some fool making a mistake. I'll take an antipain pill. Tell me when it is time to go in.'

Watcher felt cold, tense, as he entered the instrument room of the main bridge. He had found his clothes in some locked drawers. He hadn't known they were there, but the drawers aroused his curiosity. He made the preliminary Dellian extra energy movements; and the locks snapped before his super strength.
Pausing on the threshold, he flicked his gaze through the great domed room. And after a moment his terrible fear that he and his kind were lost, suffered another transfusion of hope. He was actually free.
These people couldn't have the faintest suspicion of the truth. The great genius, Joseph H Dell, must be a forgotten man on Earth. Their release of him must have behind it some plan of course but- 'Death,' he thought ferociously, 'death to them all, as they had once inflicted death, and would again.'
He was examining the bank on bank of control boards when, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the woman step from the nearby walL
He looked up; he thought with a savage joy: The leader! They'd have guns protecting her, naturally, but they wouldn't know that all these days he had been frantically wondering how he could force the use of guns.
Surely to space, they couldn't be prepared to gather up his component elements again. Their very act of freeing him had showed psychology intentions.
Before he could speak, the woman said, smilingly: 'I really shouldn't let you examine those controls. But we have decided on a different tactic with you. Freedom of the ship, an opportu