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Prescott said in a low, harsh voice, “Unless Kair is a fool he should be back in five minutes, but the contact man out there is a talkative idiot. Take that into account, and don’t be too hasty.”
By the time a minute and a half had gone by, Prescott was sweating profusely. “Three minutes,” said Gosseyn.
Prescott protested, “I told you the truth. Why shouldn’t I? You can’t escape our dragnet for long. One week, two weeks, three weeks—what does it matter? After listening to Kair, it’s clear to me that your chance of gaining control of that extra part of your mind is almost zero. That’s what we wanted to find out.”
It was curious, listening to the man talk and at the same time picturing Dr. Kair out in the fog of that pre-dawn night. His watch said that the psychiatrist had been gone only two minutes.
“Four minutes!” said Gosseyn.
It startled him a little. If a weak link was going to snap in Prescott’s mind, it would have to be soon now. He leaned forward, expectant, his questions quivering on the tip of his tongue.
“Another reason I told the truth,” Prescott babbled, “is that I am no longer convinced even a superman could interfere with the interplanetary operations which are now about to be launched. The organization has been overcautious in your case.”
Gosseyn’s watch showed twelve and one half minutes after four. According to the accelerated time sense working on Prescott’s nervous system, the five minutes allotted for Dr. Kair’s absence was up. It was too fast, it seemed to Gosseyn. By telescoping time in half, he hadn’t given Prescott the opportunity to get really upset. It was too late to slow down. If the man was going to break, now was the time.
“The five minutes are up,” he said decisively. He raised the gun. Prescott’s face was a strange, livid color. Gosseyn added savagely, “I’m going to give you one more minute, Prescott. And if you haven’t started talking then, or if Kair isn’t back, you’re through. What I want to know is, where did ‘X’ or the gang get the instrument they use to corrupt the Games Machine? And where is that instrument now?”
The words spoken, he glanced at his watch to emphasize the time limit. He stared, startled, and briefly forgot his purpose with Prescott. The time was fourteen minutes after four. Four minutes gone! He had an empty feeling, a qualm, the first shocked thought that Dr. Kair had been gone a long time. He saw that Prescott was gray, and that steadied his own nerves. Prescott said in a curious uneven tone, “The Distorter is in Patricia Hardie’s apartment. We built it in to look like a part of one wall.”
The man looked on the verge of collapse. And his story had the sound of truth. The “Distorter”—the very naming of it was a partial verification—had to be located near the Machine, and they would obviously try to conceal it. Why not in Patricia Hardie’s room? Gosseyn suppressed an impulse to get the lie detector. Suppressed it because he had Prescott on the run, and the introduction of a machine might be fatal. But he couldn’t prevent himself from taking another glance at his watch. It was 4:15 A.M. Gosseyn glared at the door. Time was calling his bluff. He began to understand the pressure Prescott had endured. With an effort he forced his attention back to the man.
“Where,” he urged, “did you get the ‘Distorter’?”
“Thorson brought it. It’s being used illegally, since its use is forbidden by the League except for transport, and—”
A sound at the door silenced him. He relaxed with a sick grin as Dr. Kair came in, breathless.
“No time to waste,” said the doctor. “It’s getting light outside, and the fog is begi
He snatched up the leather case containing the test material about Gosseyn’s brain. Gosseyn stopped him long enough for them to gag Prescott, long enough for him to have time to think, and say, “But where are we going?”
Kair was as gleeful as a boy who has tasted adventure. “Why, we’re taking my private roboplane, of course. We’re going to act just as if we’re not being watched. As to where we’re going, I’m sure you don’t expect me to mention that in front of Mr. Prescott, do you? Particularly since I’m going to drop his shoes, with the locator device in them, before we’re clear of the city.”
In five minutes they were in the air. Gosseyn looked out into the pressing fog and felt the exultation gathering in him.
They were actually getting away.
XVIII
Gosseyn sank deeper into his seat in the roboplane and glanced at Dr. Kair. The psychiatrist’s eyes were still open, but he looked very sleepy. Gosseyn said, “Doctor, what is Venus like—the cities, I mean?”
The doctor rolled his head sideways to look at Gosseyn, but did not move his body.
“Oh, much like Earth cities, but suited to the perpetually mild climate. Because of the high clouds it never gets too hot. And it never rains except in the mountains. But every night on the great verdant plains, there’s a heavy dew. And I mean heavy enough to look after all the luxuriant growth. Is that what you’re getting at?”
It wasn’t. “I mean the science.” Gosseyn frowned. “Is it different? Is it superior?”
“Not one whit. Everything ever discovered on Venus is immediately introduced on Earth. As a matter of fact, research on Earth is ahead of Venus on some things. Why shouldn’t it be? There are more people here, and specialization makes it possible for minds of middling intelligence—even unsane minds—to invent and discover.”
“I see.” Gosseyn was intent now. “Tell me, then. From your knowledge of Earth and Venusian science, what is the explanation for two bodies and the same personality?”
“I intended to think about that in the morning,” said Dr. Kair wearily.
“Think about it now.” Gosseyn was persistent. “Is there any explanation on the basis of solar science?”
“None that I know of.” The psychiatrist was frowning. “There’s no question, Gosseyn. You’ve hit at the heart of this situation. Who discovered such absolutely radical processes? I have no doubt there have been some potent biological experiments undertaken in the solar system by semantically trained biologists. But two bodies and a new brain!”
“Notice,” said Gosseyn softly, “both sides have something. The miracle of my strange immortality was a product of somebody who opposes the group that owns the Distorter. And yet, Doctor, my side—our side—is afraid. It must be. If it had comparable strength, it wouldn’t play this hidden game.”
“Hm-m, you seem to have something there.”
Gosseyn persisted, “Doctor, if you were a human being powerful enough to make decisions of planetary importance on your own, what would you do if you discovered that a galactic empire was organizing to seize an entire sun system?”
The older man snorted. “I’d rouse the people. The strength of null-A has yet to be tested in battle, but I have an idea it will show up well.”
Several minutes passed before Gosseyn spoke again. “Where are we going, Doctor?”
Dr. Kair perked up for the first time. “There’s a cabin,” he said, “on an isolated shore of Lake Superior where I stayed a couple of months three years ago. It seemed such an ideal place for quiet thought and research that I bought the place. And then never went back, somehow.” He smiled wryly. “I’m pretty sure we’ll be safe there for a while.”
Gosseyn said, “Oh!”
He sat there estimating the time that had passed since their flight began. He decided half an hour had gone by. Not bad, in a way. A man who could in thirty minutes realize that the enticing easy path was not for him had come a long distance toward domination of his environment. It was enticing to think of lying for hours on some sandy beach, with nothing to do but take mind exercises, in a leisurely fashion, under the guidance of a great scientist. The one flaw in the picture was a rather tremendous one. It wouldn’t be like that at all.