had beenworking on for several weeks was finished.
"That thing been tested, yet?" he asked the instructor.
"Yes; I had it up, myself, this morning. Flew it over to the Bronx andback with a load of supplies."
"O. K. Have somebody you can trust--one of your guards,preferably--bring it around behind the Administration Wing. CaptainPrestonby wants it. I'm to take some boys from Fourth Year Civics on atour. Something about election campaign methods."
The instructor called a Literates' guard and gave him instructions.Yetsko went to the guards' squad room on the second floor, where hefound half a dozen of the reserves loafing.
"All right; you guys start earning your pay," he said. "We're going toa party."
The men got to their feet and began gathering their weapons.
"Mason," he continued, "you have your big 'copter here; the gang ofyou can all get in it. I'm taking off in a four-ton truck, with someof these kids. I want you boys to follow us. We're going to Pelton'sstore. There's a fight going on there, and the captain's in the middleof it. We gotta get him out."
They all looked at him in puzzled surprise, but nobody gave him anyargument. Funny, now that he thought of it; it had been quite a longtime since anybody had ever given him any argument about anything. Acouple of guys out in Pittsburgh had tried it, but somehow they'd lostinterest in arguing, after a little--
When he returned to the office and opened the door, a blast of shotsgreeted him through the open door of Prestonby's private office. Hehad his pistol out before he realized that the shooting was going onat Pelton's Purchasers' Paradise, ten miles away. Literate MarthaCollins, in the inner room, was fairly screaming: "Shut that infernalthing off and listen to me!"
The dozen-odd boys whom Ray had recruited for the improvisedrelief-expedition were pulling weapons out of the gun locker, pawingthrough the boxes on the ammunition shelf, trying to explain to oneanother the working of machine carbines and burp guns. Yetskoshouldered through them and turned down the sound volume of the TV.
"This is absolutely outrageous!" Literate Martha Collins stormed athim. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, taking these children to amurderous battle like that--"
"Well, maybe it ain't right, using savages in a civilized riot,"Yetsko admitted, "but I don't care. The captain's in a jam, and I'duse live devils, if I could catch a few." He took a burp gun from oneof the boys, who had opened the action and couldn't get it closedagain. "Here; you kids don't want this kinda stuff," he reproved."Sono guns, and sleep-gas guns, that's all right. But these things arekilling tools!"
"It's what we'll have to use, Doug," Ray told him. "Things have beenhappening, since you went out. Look at the screen."
Yetsko looked, and swore blisteringly. Then he gave the burp gun backto the boy.
"Look; you gotta press this little gismo, here, to let the action shutwhen there's no clip in, or when the clip's empty. When you got aloaded clip in, you just pull back on this and let go--"
* * * * *
Frank Cardon looked at his watch, and saw that it was 1345, as it hadbeen ten seconds before, when he had last looked. He started to drumnervously on his chair arm with his fingers, then caught himself as hesaw Lancedale, who must have been every bit as anxious as himself,standing outwardly calm and unruffled.
"Well, that's the situation which now confronts us, brotherLiterates," the slender, white-haired man was finishing. "You mustsee, by now, that the policy of unyielding opposition which some ofyou have advocated and pursued is futile. You know the policy I favor,which now remains the only policy we can follow; it is summed up inthat law of political strategy: If you can't lick 'em, join 'em, and,after joining, take control.
"In spite of the Radical-Socialist victory in this state at tomorrow'selection, it will not be possible, in the next Congress, to enactPelton's socialized Literacy program into law. The Radicals will not beable to capture enough seats in the lower house, and there are too manyuncontested seats in the Senate now held by Independent-Conservatives.But, and this is inevitable, barring some unforeseen accident of theorder of a political cataclysm, they will control both houses ofCongress after the election of 2144, two years hence, and we can also besure that two years hence Chester Pelton will be nominated andoverwhelmingly elected president of the Consolidated States of NorthAmerica. Six months thereafter, the socialized Literacy program will bethe law of the land.
"So, we have until mid-2145 to make our preparations. I would estimatethat, if we do not destroy ourselves by our own folly in the meantime,we should, two years thereafter, be in complete if secret control ofthe whole Consolidated States Government. If any of you question thatlast statement, you can merely ask yourselves one question: How, inthe name of all that is rational, can Illiterates control and operatea system of socialized Literacy? Who but Literates can keep such aprogram from disintegrating into complete and indescribable confusion?
"I don't ask for any decision at this time. I do not ask for anydebate at this time. Let each of us consider the situation in his orher own mind, and let us meet again a week from today to consider ourfuture course of action, each of us realizing that any decision wetake then will determine forever the fate of our Fraternities." Helooked around the room. "Thank you, brother Literates," he said.
Instantly, Cardon was on his feet with a motion to recess the meetinguntil 1300 the following Monday, and Brigade commander Chernovseconded the motion immediately. As soon as Literate PresidentMorehead's gavel banged, Cardon, still on his feet, was running forthe double doors at the rear; the two Literates' guards on duty theregot them unsealed and opened by the time he had reached them.
There was another guard in the hall, waiting for him with a littlerecord-disk.
"From Major Slater; call came in about ten minutes ago," he said.
Cardon snapped the disk into his recorder-reproducer and put in theear plug.
"Frank," Slater's voice came out of the small machine. "You'd betterget busy, or you won't have any candidate when the polls open tomorrow.Just got a call from Pelton's store--place infiltrated by goons,estimated strength two hundred, presumed Independent-Conservatives.Serious rioting already going on; I'm taking my reserve company there.And if you haven't found out, yet, where China is, it's on the thirdfloor, next to Glassware."
Cardon pulled out the ear plug, stuffed the recorder into his trouserpocket, and began unbuckling his Sam Browne as he ran for the nearestwall visiphone. He was dialing the guard room on that floor with onehand as he took off the belt.
"Get a big ambulance on the roof, with a Literate medic andorderly-driver," he ordered, unbuttoning his smock. "And four guards,plain clothes if possible, but don't waste time changing clothes ifyou don't have anybody out of uniform. Heavy-duty sono guns, sleep-gasprojectors, gas masks and pistols. Hurry." He threw the smock and beltat the guard. "Here, Pancho; put these away for me. Thanks." He tossedthe last word back over his shoulder as he ran for the escalator.
]
It was three eternal minutes after he had reached the landing stageabove before the ambulance arrived, medic and orderly on the frontseat and the four guards, all in conservatively cut civilian clothes,inside. He crowded in beside the medic, told him, "Pelton's store,"and snapped the door shut as the big white 'copter began to rise.
They climbed to five thousand feet, and then the driver nosed hisvehicle up, cut his propeller and retracted it, and fired his rocket,aiming toward downtown Manhattan. Four minutes later, after the rocketstopped firing and they were on the down-curve of their trajectory,the propeller was erected and they began letting down toward thecentral landing stage of Pelton's Purchasers' Paradise. Cardon cut inthe TV and began calling the control tower.
"Ambulance, to evacuate Mr. Pelton," he called. "What's the score,down there?"
One of Pelton's traffic-control men appeared on Cardon's screen."You're safe to land on the central stage, but you'd better come in ata long angle from the north," he said. "We control the north publicstag
e, but the east and south stages are in the hands of the goons;they'd fire on you. Land beside that big pile of boxes undertarpaulins up here, but be careful; it's fireworks we didn't have timeto get into storage."
The ambulance came slanting in from uptown, and Cardon looked aroundanxiously. The May-fly dance of customers' 'copters had stopped; therewas a Sabbath stillness about the big store, at least visually. A fewsmall figures in Literates' guards black leather moved about on thenorth landing stage, and several Pelton employees were on the centralstop stage.