"Hopes are something to be tested," said Scone. "Let's get to work.
There should be plenty of components here with which to rig up a
control for the bomb. And I have the bomb taped to my belly."
* * * * *
"You won't have to untape your bomb," said Broward. "The transmitters
are mined. So are the generators."
"How did you do it? And why didn't you tell me you'd already done it?"
"The Russians have succeeded in making us Americans distrust each
other," said Broward. "Like everybody else, I don't reveal information
until I absolutely have to. As to your first question, I'm not only
a doctor, I'm also a physical anthropologist engaged in a Moonwide
project. I frequently attend conferences at this base, stay here
several sleeps. And what you did so permanently with your gun, I did
temporarily with a sleep-inducing aerosol. But, now that we understand
each other, let's get out."
"Not until I see the bombs you say you've planted."
Broward smiled. Then, working swiftly with a screwdriver he took from a
drawer, he removed several wall-panels. Scone looked into the recesses
and examined the component boards, functional blocks, and wires which
jammed the interior.
"I don't see any explosives," Scone said.
"Good," said Broward. "Neither will the Russians, unless they measure
the closeness of the walls to the equipment. The explosive is spread
out over the walls in a thin layer which is colored to match the
original green. Also, thin strips of a chemical are glued to the walls.
This chemical is temperature-sensitive. When the transmitters are
operating and reach maximum radiation of heat, the strips melt. And the
chemicals released interact with the explosive, detonate it."
"Ingenious," said Scone somewhat sourly. "We don't ..." and he stopped.
"Have such stuff? No wonder. As far as I know, the detonator and
explosive were made here on the Moon. In our lab at Clavius."
"If you could get into this room without being detected and could also
smuggle all that stuff from Clavius, then the Russ can be beaten," said
Scone.