Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from Space Science Fiction May 1952. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.
THE ULTROOM ERROR
_by_ JERRY SOHL
Smith admitted he had made an error involving a few murders--and a few thousand years. He was entitled to a sense of humor, though, even in the Ultroom!
* * * * *
_HB73782. Ultroom error. Tendal 13. Arvid 6. Kanad transfer out of 1609 complete, intact, but too near limit of 1,000 days. Next Kanad transfer ready. 1951. Reginald, son of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Laughton, 3495 Orland Drive, Marionville, Illinois, U. S. A. Arrive his 378th day. TB73782._
Nancy Laughton sat on the blanket she had spread on the lawn in herfront yard, knitting a pair of booties for the PTA bazaar.Occasionally she glanced at her son in the play pen, who was gettinghis daily dose of sunshine. He was gurgling happily, examining a ball,a cheese grater and a linen baby book, all with perfunctory interest.
When she looked up again she noticed a man walking by--except heturned up the walk and crossed the lawn to her.
He was a little taller than her husband, had piercing blue eyes and arather amused set to his lips.
"Hello, Nancy," he said.
"Hello, Joe," she answered. It was her brother who lived in Kankakee.
"I'm going to take the baby for a while," he said.
"All right, Joe."
He reached into the pen, picked up the baby. As he did so the baby'sknees hit the side of the play pen and young Laughton let out ascream--half from hurt and half from sudden lack of confidence in hisnew handler. But this did not deter Joe. He started off with thechild.
Around the corner and after the man came a snarling mongrel dog, eyesbright, teeth glinting in the sunlight. The man did not turn as thedog threw himself at him, burying his teeth in his leg. Surprised, theman dropped the screaming child on the lawn and turned to the dog. Joeseemed off balance and he backed up confusedly in the face of thesnapping jaws. Then he suddenly turned and walked away, the dog at hisheels.
"I tell you, the man said he was my brother and he made me think hewas," Nancy told her husband for the tenth time. "I don't even have abrother."
Martin Laughton sighed. "I can't understand why you believed him. It'sjust--just plain nuts, Nancy!"
"Don't you think I know it?" Nancy said tearfully. "I feel like I'mgoing crazy. I can't say I dreamt it because there was Reggie with hisbleeding knees, squalling for all he was worth on the grass--Oh, Idon't even want to think about it."
"We haven't lost Reggie, Nancy, remember that. Now why don't you tryto get some rest?"
"You--you don't believe me at all, do you, Martin?"
When her husband did not answer, her head sank to her arms on thetable and she sobbed.
"Nancy, for heaven's sake, of course I believe you. I'm trying tothink it out, that's all. We should have called the police."
Nancy shook her head in her arms. "They'd--never--believe me either,"she moaned.
"I'd better go and make sure Reggie's all right." Martin got up out ofhis chair and went to the stairs.
"I'm going with you," Nancy said, hurriedly rising and coming over tohim.
"We'll go up and look at him together."
They found Reggie peacefully asleep in his crib in his room upstairs.They checked the windows and tucked in the blankets. They paused inthe room for a moment and then Martin stole his arm around his wifeand led her to the door.
"As I've said, sergeant, this fellow hypnotized my wife. He made herthink he was her brother. She doesn't even have a brother. Then hetried to get away with the baby." Martin leaned down and patted thedog. "It was Tiger here who scared him off."
The police sergeant looked at the father, at Nancy and then at thedog. He scribbled notes in his book.
"Are you a rich man, Mr. Laughton?" he asked.
"Not at all. The bank still owns most of the house. I have a fewhundred dollars, that's all."
"What do you do?"
"Office work, mostly. I'm a junior executive in an insurance company."
"Any enemies?"
"No ... Oh, I suppose I have a few people I don't get along with, likeanybody else. Nobody who'd do anything like this, though."
The sergeant flipped his notebook closed. "You'd better keep your doginside and around the kid as much as possible. Keep your doors andwindows locked. I'll see that the prowl car keeps an eye on the house.Call us if anything seems unusual or out of the way."
Nancy had taken a sedative and was asleep by the time Martin finishedcleaning the .30-.30 rifle he used for deer hunting. He put it by thestairs, ready for use, fully loaded, leaning it against the wall nextto the telephone stand.
* * * * *
The front door bell rang. He answered it. It was Dr. Stuart andanother man.
"I came as soon as I could, Martin," the young doctor said, steppinginside with the other man. "This is my new assistant, Dr. Tompkins."
Martin and Tompkins shook hands.
"The baby--?" Dr. Stuart asked.
"Upstairs," Martin said.
"You'd better get him, Dr. Tompkins, if we're to take him to thehospital. I'll stay here with Mr. Laughton. How've you been, Martin?"
"Fine."
"How's everything at the office?"
"Fine."
"And your wife?"
"She's fine, too."
"Glad to hear it, Martin. Mighty glad. Say, by the way, there's thatbill you owe me. I think it's $32, isn't that right?"
"Yes, I'd almost forgotten about it."
"Why don't you be a good fellow and write a check for it? It's beenover a year, you know."
"That's right. I'll get right at it." Martin went over to his desk,opened it and started looking for his checkbook. Dr. Stuart stood byhim, making idle comment until Dr. Tompkins came down the stairs withthe sleeping baby cuddled against his shoulder.
"Never mind the check, now, Martin. I see we're ready to go." He wentover to his assistant and took the baby. Together they walked out thefront door.
"Good-bye," Martin said, going to the door.
Then he was nearly bowled over by the discharge of the .30-.30. Dr.Stuart crumpled to the ground, the baby falling to the lawn. Dr.Tompkins whirled and there was a second shot. Dr. Tompkins pitchedforward on his face.
The figure of a woman ran from the house, retrieved the now squallinginfant and ran back into the house. Once inside, Nancy slammed thedoor, gave the baby to the stunned Martin and headed for thetelephone.
"One of them was the same man!" she cried.
Martin gasped, sinking into a chair with the baby. "I believed them,"he said slowly and uncomprehendingly. "They made me believe them!"
"Those bodies," the sergeant said. "Would you mind pointing them outto me, please?"
"Aren't they--aren't they on the walk?" Mrs. Laughton asked.
"There is nothing on the walk, Mrs. Laughton."
"But there _must_ be! I tell you I shot these men who posed asdoctors. One of them was the same man who tried to take the baby thisafternoon. They hypnotized my husband--"
"Yes, I know, Mrs. Laughton. We've been through that." The sergeantwent to the door and opened it. "Say, Homer, take another look aroundthe walk and the bushes. There's supposed to be two of them. Shot witha .30-.30."
He turned and picked up the gun and examined it agai
n. "Ever shoot agun before, Mrs. Laughton?"
"Many times. Martin and I used to go hunting together before we hadReggie."
The sergeant nodded. "You were taking an awful chance, shooting at aguy carrying your baby, don't you think?"
"I shot him in the legs. The other--the other turned and I shot him inthe chest. I could even see his eyes when he turned around. If Ihadn't pulled the trigger then ... I don't want to remember it."
The patrolman pushed the door open. "There's no bodies out here butthere's some blood. Quite a lot of blood. A little to one side of