"Thank you." Tinken made motions and technicians came in with the two
cabinets.
"This isn't good," said Kingman's assistant to the lawyer. "The old
goat looks interested."
"Don't worry," said Kingman. "This'll take a long time, and by the time
they get done, Hamilton will be ready to throw them out. Besides, it
will make a good arguing point for my final blast. And, brother, I've
got a talking-point that will scream for itself."
"But suppose they convince--"
"Look," smiled Kingman, "this is really an argument as to whether
matter or intelligence is carried. Believe me, that has everything to
do with it. I'm keeping one idea under the wraps until shooting-time so
they won't be able to get an argument against it. We're a cinch. That's
why I kept it in a legal court instead of a technical court. The Techs
would award it to Channing on a technical basis, but the legal boys
have got to follow my argument."
"How about an appeal?"
"The record of this court is still a very heavy argument. Look, they're
about to start."
The racket and hubbub died, and Tinken faced the judge. "These are
plainly labeled. They are matter transmitter and matter receiver.
We have here a set of metal bars. They are made of copper, steel,
aluminum, some complex alloys, and the brother to that glass cube you
have before you. We will transmit this set of objects from here to
there. Have you any suggestions?"
"A matter of control and identity. What have you for control?"
"Nothing that is outside of our hands," smiled Tinken. "Would you
care to send something of your own? Your gavel? Inkwell? Marked coin?
Anything?"
"I'd offer my glasses except for the fact that I cannot see without
them," said Judge Hamilton.
"We wouldn't break them or damage them a bit."
"I know--that much faith I do have--but I'd not see the experiment."
"A good point. Anything else?"
"My watch. It is unique enough for me." He handed over the watch, which
was quite sizable.
Tinken inspected the watch and smiled. "Very old, isn't it? A real
collector's item, I dare say."
Hamilton beamed. "There are nine of them in the Solar System," he said.
"And I know where the other eight are."
"O.K., we'll put it on the top. I'll have to stop it, because the
movement of the balance wheel would cause a rift during transmission."
"How about the spring tension?"
"No need to worry about that. We've sent loaded springs before. Now,
people, stand back and we'll go on the air."
Don Channing himself inspected the machinery to see that nothing was
wrong. He nodded at Walt Franks at the receiver, and then started the
initial operations. "We are synchronizing the two machines," he said.
"Absolute synchronization is necessary. Ready, Walt?"
"Right!"
Channing pushed a button. There was a minute, whirring hum, a crackle
of ozone, very faint, and an almost-imperceptible wave of heat from
both machines. "Now," said Walt Franks, "we'll see."
He opened the cabinet and reached in with a flourish.
His face fell. It turned rosy. He opened his mouth to speak, but
nothing but choking sounds came forth. He spluttered, took a deep
breath, and then shook his head in slow negation. Slowly, like a boy
coming in for a whipping, Walt took out the judge's watch. He handed it
to Don.
Don, knowing from Walt's expression that something was very, very
wrong, took the watch gingerly, but quickly. He hated to look and yet
was burning with worried curiosity at the same time.
In all three dimensions the watch had lost its shape. It was no longer
a lenticular object, but had a very faint sine wave in its structure.
The round case was distorted in this wave, and the face went through
the same long swell and ebb as the case. The hands maintained their
distance from this wavy face by conforming to the sine-wave contour
of the watch. And Channing knew without opening the watch that the
insides were all on the sine-wave principle, too. The case wouldn't
have opened, Don knew, because it was a screw-on case, and the threads
were rippling up and down along with the case and cover. The knurled
stem wouldn't have turned, and as Channing shook the watch gently, it
gave forth with one--and only one--tick as the slack in the distorted
balance wheel went out.