CHAPTER XII
Flying Visits--Via Projection
"Well, what to do?" asked Seaton as he and Rovol entered the laboratory,"Tear down this fourth-order projector and tackle the big job? I see thelens is here, on schedule, so we can hop right into it."
"We shall have further use for this mechanism. We shall need at leastone more lens of this dense material, and other scientists also may haveneed of one or two. Then, too, the new projector must be so large thatit cannot be erected in this room."
As he spoke, Rovol seated himself at his control-desk and ran hisfingers lightly over the keys. The entire wall of the laboratorydisappeared, hundreds of beams of force darted here and there, seizingand working raw materials, and in the portal there grew up, to Seaton'samazement, a keyboard and panel installation such as the Earth-man, inhis wildest moments, had never imagined. Bank upon bank oftypewriter-like keys; row upon row of keys, pedals, and stops resemblingsomewhat those of the console of a gigantic pipe-organ; panel upon panelof meters, switches, and dials--all arranged about two deeply-cushionedchairs and within reach of their occupants.
"Whew! That looks like the combined mince-pie nightmares of a wholeflock of linotype operators, pipe-organists, and hard-boiled radiohams!" exclaimed Seaton when the installation was complete. "Now thatyou've got it, what are you going to do with it?"
"There is not a control system in Norlamin adequate for the task weface, since the problem of the projection of rays of the fifth order hasheretofore been of only academic interest. Therefore it becomesnecessary to construct such a control. This mechanism will, I amconfident, have a sufficiently wide range of application to perform anyoperation we shall require of it."
"It sure looks as though it could do almost anything, provided the manbehind it knows how to play a tune on it--but if that rumble seat is forme, you'd better count me out right now. I followed you for aboutfifteen seconds, then lost you completely; and now I'm sunk without atrace," said Seaton.
"That is, of course, true, and is a point I was careless enough tooverlook." Rovol thought for a moment, then got up, crossed the room tohis control desk, and continued, "We shall dismantle the machine andrebuild it at once."
"Oh no--too much work!" protested Seaton, "You've got it about done,haven't you?"
"It is hardly started. Two hundred thousand bands of force must belinked to it, each in its proper place, and it is necessary that youshould understand thoroughly every detail of this entire projector,"Rovol answered.
"Why? I'm not ashamed to admit that I haven't got brains enough tounderstand a thing like that."
"You have sufficient brain capacity; it is merely undeveloped. There aretwo reasons why you must be as familiar with the operation of thismechanism as you are with the operation of one of your Earthlyautomobiles. The first is that a similar control is to be installed inyour new space-vessel, since by its use you can attain a perfection ofhandling impossible by any other system. The second, and more importantreason, is that neither I nor any other man of Norlamin could compelhimself, by any force of will, to direct a ray that would take away thelife of any fellow-man."
While Rovol was speaking, he reversed his rays, and soon the componentparts of the new control had been disassembled and piled in orderlyarray about the room.
"Hm--m--m. Never thought of that. It's right too," mused Seaton. "How'reyou going to get it into my thick skull--with an educator?"
"Exactly," and Rovol sent a beam of force after his highly developededucational mechanism. Dials and electrodes were adjusted, connectionswere established, and the beams and pencils of force began toreconstruct the great central controlling device. But this time, insteadof being merely a bewildered spectator, Seaton was an active participantin the work. As each key and meter was wrought and mounted, there wereindelibly impressed upon his brain the exact reason for and function ofthe part, and later, when the control itself was finished and theseemingly interminable task of connecting it up to the outputforce-bands of the transformers had begun, he had a completeunderstanding of everything with which he was working, and understoodall the means by which the ends he had so long desired were to beattained. For to the ancient scientist the tasks he was then performingwere the merest routine, to be performed in reflex fashion, and hedevoted most of his attention to transferring from his own brain to thatof his young assistant as much of his stupendous knowledge as thesmaller brain of the Terrestrial was capable of absorbing. More and morerapidly as the work progressed the mighty flood of knowledge poured intoSeaton's mind. After an hour or so, when enough connections had beenmade so that automatic forces could be so directed as to finish the job,Rovol and Seaton left the laboratory and went into the living room. Asthey walked, the educator accompanied them, borne upon its beam offorce.
"Your brain is behaving very nicely indeed," said Rovol, "much betterthan I would have thought possible from its size. In fact, it may bepossible for me to transfer to you all the knowledge I have which mightbe of use to you. That is why I took you away from the laboratory. Whatdo you think of the idea?"
"Our psychologists have always maintained that none of us ever uses morethan a minute fraction of the actual capacity of his brain," Seatonreplied after a moment's thought. "If you think you can give me even apercentage of your knowledge without killing me, go to it--I'm for it,strong!"
"Knowing that you would be, I have already requested Drasnik, the Firstof Psychology, to come here, and he has just arrived," answered Rovol.And as he spoke, that personage entered the room.
When the facts had been set before him, the psychologist nodded his head
"That is quite possible," he said with enthusiasm, "and I will be onlytoo glad to assist in such an operation."
"But listen!" protested Seaton, "You'll probably change my wholepersonality! Rovol's brain is three times the size of mine."
"Tut-tut--nothing of the kind," Drasnik reproved him. "As you have said,you are using only a minute portion of the active mass of your brain.The same thing is true with us--many millions of cycles would have topass before we would be able to fill the brains we now have."
"Then why are your brains so large?"
"Merely a provision of Nature that no possible accession of knowledgeshall find her storehouse too small," replied Drasnik, positively."Ready?"
All three donned the headsets and a wave of mental force swept intoSeaton's mind, a wave of such power that the Terrestrial's every sensewilted under the impact. He did not faint, he did not loseconsciousness--he simply lost all control of every nerve and fiber ashis entire brain passed into the control of the immense mentality of theFirst of Psychology and became a purely receptive, plastic medium uponwhich to impress the knowledge of the aged physicist.
* * * * *
Hour after hour the transfer continued, Seaton lying limp as thoughlifeless, the two Norlaminians tense and rigid, every facultyconcentrated upon the ignorant, virgin brain exposed to their gaze.Finally the operation was complete and Seaton, released from the weird,hypnotic grip of that stupendous mind, gasped, shook himself, andwrithed to his feet.
"Great Cat!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide with astonishment. "I wouldn'thave believed there was as much to know in the entire Universe as I knowright now, and I know it as well as I ever knew elementary algebra.Thanks, fellows, a million times--but say, did you leave any open spacesfor more? In one way, I seem to know less than I did before, there's somuch more to find out. Can I learn anything more, or did you fill me upto capacity?"
The psychologist, who had been listening to the exuberant youth withundisguised pleasure, spoke calmly.
"The mere fact that you appreciate your comparative ignorance shows thatyou are still capable of learning. Your capacity to learn is greaterthan it ever was before, even though the waste space has been reduced.Much to our surprise, Rovol and I gave you all of his knowledge thatwould be of any use to you, and some of my own, and still theoreticallyyou can add to it more than nine times the total of your
presentknowledge."
The psychologist departed, and Rovol and Seaton returned to thelaboratory, where the forces were still merrily at work. There wasnothing that could be done to hasten the connecting, and it was late inthe following period of labor before they could begin the actualconstruction of the projector. Once started, however, it progressed withamazing rapidity. Now understanding the system, it did not seem strangeto Seaton that he should merely actuate a certain combination of forceswhen he desired a certain operation performed; nor did it seem unusualor worthy of comment that one flick of his finger over that switchboardwould send a force a distance of hundreds of miles to a factory whereother forces were busily at work, to seize a hundred angle-bars oftransparent purple metal that were to form the backbone of thefifth-order projector. Nor did it seem peculiar that the same force,with no further instruction, should bring these hundred bars back tohim, in a high loop through the atmosphere; should deposit them gentlyin a convenient space near the site of operations; and then shoulddisappear as though it had never existed! With such tools as that, itwas a matter of only a few hours before the projector was done--a taskthat would have required years of planning and building upon Earth.
Two hundred and fifty feet it towered above their heads, a tubularnetwork of braced and latticed bars of purple metal, fifty feet indiameter at the base and tapering smoothly to a diameter of about tenfeet at the top. Built of a metal thousands of times as strong and hardas steel, it was not cumbersome in appearance, and yet was strong enoughto be absolutely rigid. Ten enormous supporting forces held the lens ofneutronium immovable in the exact center of the upper end; at intervalsdown the shaft similar forces held variously-shaped lenses and prismsformed from zones of force; in the center of the bottom or floor of thetowering structure was the double controlling system, with a universalvisiplate facing each operator.
"Well, Rovol, that's that," remarked Seaton as the last connection wasmade. "What say we hop in and give the baby a ride over to the Area ofExperiment? Caslor must have the mounting done, and we've got timeenough left in this period to try her out."
"In a moment. I am setting the fourth-order projector to go out to thedwarf star after an additional supply of neutronium."
Seaton, knowing from the data of their first journey, that the controlscould be so set as to duplicate their feat in every particular withoutsupervision, stepped into his seat in the new controller, pressed a key,and spoke.
"Hi, Dottie, what's on your mind?"
"Nothing much," Dorothy's clear voice answered. "Got it done and can Isee it?"
"Sure--sit tight and I'll send a boat after you."
As he spoke, Rovol's flier darted into the air and away; and in twominutes it returned, slowing abruptly as it landed. Dorothy stepped out,radiant, and returned Seaton's enthusiastic caresses with equal fervorbefore she spoke.
"Lover, I'm afraid you violated all known speed laws getting me overhere. Aren't you afraid of getting pinched?"
"Nope--not here. Besides, I didn't want to keep Rovol waiting--we're allready to go. Hop in here with me, this left-hand control's mine."
Rovol entered the tube, took his place, and waved his hand. Seaton'shands swept over the keys and the whole gigantic structure wafted intothe air. Still upright, it was borne upon immense rods of force towardthe Area of Experiment, which was soon reached. Covered as the Area waswith fantastic equipment, there was no doubt as to their destination,for in plain sight, dominating all the lesser instruments, there rose astupendous telescopic mounting, with an enormous hollow tube of metalliclattice-work which could be intended for nothing else than theirprojector. Approaching it carefully, Seaton deftly guided the projectorlengthwise into that hollow receptacle and anchored it in the exactoptical axis. Flashing beams of force made short work of welding the twotubes together immovably with angles and lattices of the same purplemetal, the terminals of the variable-speed motors were attached to thecontrollers, and everything was in readiness for the first trial.
"What special instructions do we need to run it, if any?" Seaton askedof the First of Mechanism, who had lifted himself up into the projector.
"Very little. This motor governs the hour motion, that one the rightascension. The potentiometers regulate the degree of vernier action--anyratio is possible, from direct drive up to more than a hundred millioncomplete revolutions of that graduated dial to give you one second ofarc."
"Plenty fine, I'd say. Thanks a lot, ace. Whither away, Rovol--anychoice?"
"Anywhere you please, son, since this is merely a try-out."
"O. K. We'll hop over and tell Dunark hello."
The tube swung around into line with that distant planet and Seatonstepped down hard, upon a pedal. Instantly they seemed infinite myriadsof miles out in space, the green system barely visible as a faint greenstar behind them.
"Wow, that ray's fast!" exclaimed the pilot, ruefully. "I overshot abouta thousand light years. We'll try again, with considerably less power,"and he rearranged and reset the dials and meters before him. Adjustmentafter adjustment and many reductions in power had to be made before theprojection ceased leaping millions of miles at a touch, but finally theoperators became familiar with the new technique and the ray becamemanageable. Soon they were hovering above what had been Mardonal, andsaw that all signs of warfare had disappeared. Slowly turning thecontrols, Seaton flashed the projection over the girdling Osnomian seaand guided it through the impregnable metal walls of the palace into thethrone room of Roban, where they saw the Emperor, Tarnan the Karbix, andDunark in close conference.
"Well, here we are," remarked Seaton. "Now we'll put on a littlevisibility and give the natives a treat."
"Sh-sh," whispered Dorothy, "they'll hear you, Dick--we're intrudingshamefully."
"No, they won't hear us, because I haven't heterodyned the audio in onthe wave yet. And as for intruding, that's exactly what we came overhere for."
* * * * *
He imposed the audio system upon the inconceivably high frequency oftheir carrier wave and spoke in the Osnomian tongue.
"Greetings, Roban, Dunark, and Tarnan, from Seaton." All three jumped totheir feet, amazed, staring about the empty room as Seaton went on, "Iam not here in person. I am simply sending you my projection. Just amoment and I will put on a little visibility."
He brought more forces into play, and solid images of force appeared inthe great hall; images of the three occupants of the controller.Introductions and greetings over, Seaton spoke briefly and to the point.
"We've got everything we came after--much more than I had any idea wecould get. You need have no more fear of the Fenachrone--we have found ascience superior to theirs. But much remains to be done, and we havenone too much time; therefore I have come to you with certain requests."
"The Overlord has but to command," replied Roban.
"Not command, since we are all working together for a common cause. Inthe name of that cause, Dunark, I ask you to come to me at once,accompanied by Tarnan and any others you may select. You will be pilotedby a ray which we shall set upon your controls. Upon your way here youwill visit the First City of Dasor, another planet, where you will pickup Sacner Carfon, who will be awaiting you there."
"As you direct, so it shall be," and Seaton flashed the projector to theneighboring planet of Urvania. There he found that the giganticspace-cruiser he had ordered had been completed, and requested Urvan andhis commander-in-chief to tow it to Norlamin, piloted by a ray. He thenjumped to Dasor, there interviewing Carfon and being assured of the fullco-operation of the porpoise-men.
"Well, that's that, folks," said Seaton as he shut off the power. "Wecan't do much more for a few days, until the gang gets here for thecouncil of war. How'd it be, Rovol, for me to practice with this outfitwhile you are finishing up the odds and ends you want to clean up? Youmight suggest to Orlon, too, that it'd be a good deed for him to pilotthose folks over here."
As Rovol wafted himself to the ground from their lofty st
ation, Craneand Margaret appeared and were lifted up to the place formerly occupiedby the physicist.
"How's tricks, Mart? I hear you're quite an astronomer?" said Seaton.
"Yes, thanks to Orlon and the First of Psychology. He seemed quiteinterested in increasing our Earthly knowledge. I certainly know muchmore than I had ever hoped to know of anything."
"Yeah, you can pilot us to the Fenachrone system now without anytrouble. You also absorbed some ethnology and kindred sciences. Whatd'you think--with Dunark and Urvan, do we know enough to go ahead orshould we take a chance on holding things up while we get acquaintedwith some of the other peoples of these planets of the green system?"
"Delay is dangerous, as our time is already short," Crane replied aftera time. "We know enough, I believe; and furthermore, any additionalassistance is problematical; in fact, it is more than doubtful. TheNorlaminians have surveyed the system rather thoroughly, and no otherplanet seems to have inhabitants who have even approached thedevelopment attained here."
"Right--that's the way I dope it, exactly. We'll wait until the gangassembles, then go over the top. In the meantime, I called you over totake a ride in this projector--it's a darb. I'd like to shoot for theFenachrone system first, but I don't quite dare to."
"Don't _dare_ to? You?" scoffed Margaret. "How come?"
"Cancel the 'dare'--change it to 'prefer not to.' Why? Because whilethey can't work through a zone of force, some of their realscientists--and they have lots of them, not like the bull-headed soldierwe captured--may well be able to detect a fifth-order ray--even if theycan't work with them intelligently--and if they detected our ray, it'dput them on guard."
"You are exactly right, Dick," agreed Crane. "And there speaks theNorlaminian physicist, and not my old and reckless playmate RichardSeaton."
"Oh, I don't know--I told you I was getting timid as a mouse. But let'snot sit here twiddling our thumbs--let's go places and do things.Whither away? I want a destination a good ways off, not something in ourown back yard."
"Go back home, of course, stupe," put in Dorothy, "do you have to betold every little thing?"
"Sure--never thought of that," and Seaton, after a moment's rapid mentalarithmetic, swung the great tube around, rapidly adjusted a few dials,and stepped down upon a pedal. There was a fleeting instant ofunthinkable velocity; then they found themselves poised somewhere inspace.
"Well, wonder how far I missed it on my first shot?" Seaton's crispvoice broke the stunned silence. "Guess that's our sun, over to theleft, ain't it, Mart?"
"Yes. You were about right for distance, and within a few tenths of alight-year laterally. That is fairly close, I should have said."
"Rotten, for these controls. Except for the effect of relative propermotions, which I can't calculate yet for lack of data. I should be ableto hit a gnat right in the left eye at this range--and the difference inproper motions couldn't have thrown me off more than a few hundred feet.Nope, I was too anxious--hurried too much on the settings of the slowverniers. I'll snap back and try it again."
He adjusted the verniers very carefully, and again threw on the power.Again there was the sensation of the barest perceptible moment ofunimaginable speed, and they were in the air some fifty feet above theground of Crane Field, almost above the testing shed. Seaton rapidlyadjusted the variable-speed motors until they were perfectly stationary,relative to the surface of the earth.
"You are improving," commended Crane.
"Yeah--that's more like it. Guess maybe I can learn in time to shootthis gun. Well, let's go down."
They dropped through the roof into the laboratory where Maxwell, now incharge of the place, was watching a reaction and occasionally takingnotes.
"Hi, Max! Seaton speaking, on a television. Got your range?"
"Exactly, Chief, apparently. I can hear you perfectly, but can't seeanything," Maxwell stared about the empty laboratory.
"You will in a minute. I knew I had you, but didn't want to scare youout of a year's growth," and Seaton thickened the image until they wereplainly visible.
"Please call Mr. Vaneman on the phone and tell him you're in touch withus," directed Seaton as soon as greetings had been exchanged. "Betteryet, after you've broken it to them gently, Dot can talk to them, thenwe'll go over and see 'em."
The connection established, Dorothy's image floated up to the telephoneand apparently spoke.
"Mother? This is the weirdest thing you ever imagined. We're not reallyhere at all you know--we're actually here in Norlamin--no, I mean Dick'sjust sending a kind of a talking picture of us to see you on earthhere.... Oh, no, I don't know anything about it--it's like a talkie sentby radio, only worse, because I am saying this myself right now, withoutany rehearsal or anything ... we didn't want to burst in on you withoutwarning, because you'd be sure to think you were seeing actual ghosts,and we're not dead the least bit ... we're having the most perfectlygorgeous time you ever imagined.... Oh, I'm so excited I can't explainanything, even if I knew anything about it to explain. We'll all four ofus be over there in about a second and tell you all about it. 'Bye!"
Indeed, it was even less than a second--Mrs. Vaneman was still in theact of hanging up the receiver when the image materialized in the livingroom of Dorothy's girlhood home.
"Hello, mother and dad," Seaton's voice was cheerful but matter-of-fact."I'll thicken this up so you can see us better in a minute. But don'tthink that we are flesh and blood. You'll see simply three-dimensionaltalking pictures of ourselves, transmitted by radio."
For a long time Mr. and Mrs. Vaneman chatted with the four visitors fromso far away in space, while Seaton gloried in the working of thatmarvelous projector.
"Well, our time's about up," Seaton finally ended the visit. "Thequitting-whistle's going to blow in five minutes, and they don't likeovertime work here where we are. We'll drop in and see you again maybe,sometime before we come back."
"Do you know yet when you are coming back?" asked Mrs. Vaneman.
"Not an idea in the world, mother, any more than we had when we started.But we're getting along fine, having the time of our lives, and arelearning a lot besides. So-long!" and Seaton clicked off the power.
* * * * *
As they descended from the projector and walked toward the waitingairboat, Seaton fell in beside Rovol.
"You know they've got our new cruiser built of dagal, and are bringingit over here. Dagal's good stuff, but it isn't as good as your purplemetal, inoson, which is the theoretical ultimate in strength possiblefor any material possessing molecular structure. Why wouldn't it be asound idea to flash it into inoson when it gets here?"
"That would be an excellent idea, and we shall do so. It also hasoccurred to me that Caslor of Mechanism, Astron of Energy, Satrazon ofChemistry, myself, and one of two others, should collaborate ininstalling a very complete fifth-order projector in the new _Skylark_,as well as any other equipment which may seem desirable. The security ofthe Universe may depend upon the abilities and qualities of youTerrestrials and your vessel, and therefore _nothing_ should be leftundone which it is possible for us to do."
"You chirped something then, old scout--thanks. You might do that, whileI attend to such preliminaries as wiping out the Fenachrone fleet."
In due time the reinforcements from the other planets arrived, and themammoth space-cruiser attracted attention even before it landed, soenormous was she in comparison with the tiny vessels having her in tow.Resting upon the ground, it seemed absurd that such a structure couldpossibly move under her own power. For two miles that enormous mass ofmetal extended over the country-side, and while it was very narrow forits length, still its fifteen hundred feet of diameter dwarfedeverything near by. But Rovol and his aged co-workers smiled happily asthey saw it, erected their keyboards, and set to work with a will.
Meanwhile a group had gathered about a conference table--a group such ashad never before been seen together upon any world. There was Fodan, theancient Chief of the Five of Norl
amin, huge-headed, with his leoninemane and flowing beard of white. There were Dunark and Tarnan of Osnomeand Urvan of Urvania--smooth-faced and keen, utterly implacable andruthless in war. There was Sacner Carfon Twenty Three Forty Six, theimmense, porpoise-like, hairless Dasorian. There were Seaton and Crane,representatives of our own Earthly civilization.
Seaton opened the meeting by handing each man a headset and running areel showing the plans of the Fenachrone; not only as he had securedthem from the captain of the marauding vessel, but also everything theFirst of Psychology had deduced from his own study of that inhumanbrain. He then removed the reel and gave them the tentative plans ofbattle. Headsets removed, he threw the meeting open for discussion--anddiscussion there was in plenty. Each man had ideas, which were thrownupon the table and studied, for the most part calmly anddispassionately. The conference continued until only one point was left,upon which argument waxed so hot that everyone seemed shouting at once.
"Order!" commanded Seaton, banging his fist upon the table. "Osnome andUrvania wish to strike without warning, Norlamin and Dasor insist upon aformal declaration of war. Earth has the deciding vote. Mart, how do wevote on this?"
"I vote for formal warning, for two reasons, one of which I believe willconvince even Dunark. First, because it is the fair thing to do--whichreason is, of course, the one actuating the Norlaminians, but whichwould not be considered by Osnome, nor even remotely understood by theFenachrone. Second, I am certain that the Fenachrone will merely beenraged by the warning and will defy us. Then what will they do? Youhave already said that you have been able to locate only a few of theirexploring warships. As soon as we declare war upon them they will almostcertainly send out torpedoes to every one of their ships of war. We canthen follow the torpedoes with our rays, and thus will be enabled tofind and to destroy their vessels."
"That settles that," declared the chairman as a shout of agreementarose. "We shall now adjourn to the projector and send the warning. Ihave a ray upon the torpedo, announcing the destruction by us of theirvessel, and that torpedo will arrive at its destination in less than anhour. It seems to me that we should make our announcement immediatelyafter their ruler has received the news of their first defeat."
In the projector, where they were joined by Rovol, Orlon, and severalothers of the various "Firsts" of Norlamin, they flashed out to theflying torpedo, and Seaton grinned at Crane as their fifth-order carrierbeam went through the far-flung detector screens of the Fenachronewithout setting up the slightest reaction. In the wake of that speedingmessenger they flew through a warm, foggy, dense atmosphere, through areceiving trap in the wall of a gigantic conical structure, and on intothe telegraph room. They saw the operator remove spools of tape from thetorpedo and attach them to a magnetic sender--heard him speak.
"Pardon, your majesty--we have just received a first-degree emergencytorpedo from flagship Y427W of fleet 42. In readiness."
"Put it on, here in the council chamber," a deep voice snapped.
"If he's broadcasting it, we're in for a spell of hunting," Seatonremarked. "Nope, he's putting it on a tight beam--that's fine, we canchase it up," and with a narrow detector beam he traced the invisibletransmission beam into the council room.
"'Sfunny. This place seems awfully familiar--I'd swear I'd seen itbefore, lots of times--seems like I've been in it, more than once,"Seaton remarked, puzzled, as he looked around the somber room, with itsdull, paneled metal walls covered with charts, maps, screens, andspeakers; and with its low, massive furniture. "Oh, sure, I'm familiarwith it from studying the brain of that Fenachrone captain. Well, whileHis Nibs is absorbing the bad news, we'll go over this once more. You,Carfon, having the biggest voice of any of us ever heard utteringintelligible language, are to give the speech. You know about what tosay. When I say 'go ahead' do your stuff. Now, everybody else, listen.While he's talking I've got to have audio waves heterodyned both ways inthe circuit, and they'll be able to hear any noise any of us make--soall of us except Carfon want to keep absolutely quiet, no matter whathappens or what we see. As soon as he's done I'll cut off the audiosending and say something to let you all know we're off the air. Gotit?"
"One point has occurred to me about handling the warning," boomedCarfon. "If it should be delivered from apparently empty air, directlyat those we wish to address, it would give the enemy an insight into ourmethods, which might be undesirable."
"H--m--m. Never thought of that ... it sure would, and it would beundesirable," agreed Seaton. "Let's see ... we can get away from that bybroadcasting it. They have a very complete system of speakers, but nomatter how many private-band speakers a man may have, he always has oneon the general wave, which is used for very important announcements ofwide interest. I'll broadcast you on that wave, so that everygeneral-wave speaker on the planet will be energized. That way, it'lllook as if we're shooting from a distance. You might talk accordingly."
"If we have a minute more, there's something I would like to ask,"Dunark broke the ensuing silence. "Here we are, seeing everything thatis happening there. Walls, planets, even suns, do not bar our vision,because of the fifth-order carrier wave. I understand that, partially.But how can we see anything there? I always thought that I knewsomething about rays, but I see that I do not. The light-rays must bereleased, or deheterodyned, close to the object viewed, with nothingopaque to light intervening. They must then be reflected from the objectseen, must be gathered together, again heterodyned upon the fifth-ordercarrier, and retransmitted back to us. And there is neither receiver nortransmitter at the other end. How can you do all that from our end?"
"We don't," Seaton assured him. "At the other end there are all thethings you mentioned, and a lot more besides. Our secondary projectorout there is composed of forces, visible or invisible, as we please.Part of those forces comprise the receiving, viewing, and sendinginstruments. They are not material, it is true, but they arenevertheless fully as actual, and far more efficient, than any othersystem of radio, television, or telephone in existence anywhere else. Itis force, you know, that makes radio or television work--the actualcopper, insulation, and other matter serve only to guide and to controlthe various forces employed. The Norlaminian scientists have found outhow to direct and control pure forces without using the cumbersome andhindering material substance...."
He broke off as the record from the torpedo stopped suddenly and theoperator's voice came through a speaker.
"General Fenimol! Scoutship K3296, patrolling the detector zone, wishesto give you an urgent emergency report. I told them that you were incouncil with the Emperor, and they instructed me to interrupt it, nomatter how important the council may be. They have on board a survivorof the Y427W, and have captured and killed two men of the same race asthose who destroyed our vessel. They say that you will want their reportwithout an instant's delay."
"We do!" barked the general, at a sign from his ruler. "Put it on here.Run the rest of the torpedo report immediately afterward."
In the projector, Seaton stared at Crane a moment, then a light ofunderstanding spread over his features.
"DuQuesne, of course--I'll bet a hat no other Terrestrial is this farfrom home. I can't help feeling sorry for the poor devil--he's a darngood man gone wrong--but we'd have had to kill him ourselves before wegot done with him; so it's probably as well they got him. Pin your earsback, everybody, and watch close--we want to get this, all of it."