He stopped. "Never mind," he muttered.
Dzing was telepathing again:
"In many ways this is mechanically a very advanced type ship. Atomic
energy drives are correctly installed. The automatic machinery performs
magnificently. There is massive energy screen equipment, and they can
put out a tractor beam to match anything we have that's mobile. But
there is a wrongness in the energy flows of this ship, which I lack the
experience to interpret. Let me furnish you some data...."
The data consisted of variable wave measurements, evidently--so
Lesbee deduced--the wave-lengths of the energy flows involved in the
"wrongness."
He said in alarm at that point, "Better drop him into the cage while we
analyze what he could be talking about."
Browne did so--as Dzing telepathed: "If what you suggest is true, then
these beings are completely at our mercy--"
_Cut off!_
Browne was turning on the intercom. "Sorry I had to cut you good people
off," he said. "You'll be interested to know that we have managed to
tune in on the thought pulses of the prisoner and have intercepted his
calls to someone on the planet below. This gives us an advantage." He
turned to Lesbee. "Don't you agree?"
Browne visibly showed no anxiety, whereas Dzing's final statement
flabbergasted Lesbee. "... _completely at our mercy_ ..." surely meant
exactly that. He was staggered that Browne could have missed the
momentous meaning.
Browne addressed him enthusiastically, "I'm excited by this telepathy!
It's a marvelous short-cut to communication, if we could build up
our own thought pulses. Maybe we could use the principle of the
remote-control landing device which, as you know, can project human
thoughts on a simple, gross level, where ordinary energies get confused
by the intense field needed for the landing."
What interested Lesbee in the suggestion was that he had in his pocket
a remote control for precisely such mechanically produced thought
pulses. Unfortunately, the control was for the lifeboat. It probably
would be advisable to tune the control to the ship landing system also.
It was a problem he had thought of earlier, and now Browne had opened
the way for an easy solution.
He held his voice steady as he said, "Captain, let me program those
landing analogs while you prepare the film communication project. That
way we can be ready for him either way."
Browne seemed to be completely trusting, for he agreed at once.
At Browne's direction, a film projector was wheeled in. It was swiftly
mounted on solid connections at one end of the room. The cameraman and
Third Officer Mindel--who had come in with him--strapped themselves
into two adjoining chairs attached to the projector, and were evidently
ready.
* * * * *
While this was going on, Lesbee called various technical personnel.
Only one technician protested. "But, John," he said, "that way we have
a double control--with the lifeboat control having pre-emption over the
ship. That's very unusual."
It was unusual. But it was the lifeboat control that was in his pocket
where he could reach it quickly; and so he said adamantly, "Do you want
to talk to Captain Browne? Do you want his okay?"
"No, no." The technician's doubts seemed to subside. "I heard you
being named joint captain. You're the boss. It shall be done."
Lesbee put down the closed-circuit phone into which he had been
talking, and turned. It was then he saw that the film was ready to
roll, and that Browne had his fingers on the controls of the tractor
beam. The older man stared at him questioningly.
"Shall I go ahead?" he asked.
At this penultimate moment, Lesbee had a qualm.
Almost immediately he realized that the only alternative to what Browne
planned was that he reveal his own secret knowledge.
He hesitated, torn by doubts. Then: "Will you turn that off?" He
indicated the intercom.
Browne said to the audience, "We'll bring you in again on this in a
minute, good people." He broke the connection and gazed questioningly
at Lesbee.
Whereupon Lesbee said in a low voice, "Captain, I should inform you
that I brought the Karn aboard in the hope of using him against you."
"Well, that is a frank and open admission," the officer replied very
softly.
"I mention this," said Lesbee, "because if you had similar ulterior
motives, we should clear the air completely before proceeding with this
attempt at communication."
A blossom of color spread from Browne's neck over his face. At last
he said slowly, "I don't know how I can convince you, but I had no
schemes."
Lesbee gazed at Browne's open countenance, and suddenly he realized
that the officer was sincere. Browne had accepted the compromise. The
solution of a joint captaincy was agreeable to him.
Sitting there, Lesbee experienced an enormous joy. Seconds went by
before he realized what underlay the intense pleasurable excitement.
It was simply the discovery that--communication worked. You could tell
your truth and get a hearing ... if it made sense.
It seemed to him that his truth made a lot of sense. He was offering
Browne peace aboard the ship. Peace at a price, of course; but still
peace. And in this severe emergency Browne recognized the entire
validity of the solution.
So it was now evident to Lesbee.
Without further hesitation he told Browne that the creatures who had
boarded the lifeboat, were robots--not alive at all.
* * * * *
Browne was nodding thoughtfully. Finally he said: "But I don't see how
this could be utilized to take over the ship."
Lesbee said patiently, "As you know, sir, the remote landing control
system includes five principal ideas which are projected very forcibly
on the thought level. Three of these are for guidance--up, down and
sideways. Intense magnetic fields, any one of which could partially
jam a complex robot's thinking processes. The fourth and fifth are
instructions to blast either up or down. The force of the blast
depends on how far the control is turned on. Since the energy used
is overwhelming those simple commands would take pre-emption over the
robot. When that first one came aboard the lifeboat, I had a scan
receiver--nondetectable--on him. This registered two power sources,
one pointing forward, one backward, from the chest level. That's why
I had him on his back when I brought him in here. But the fact is I
could have had him tilted and pointing at a target, and activated
either control four or five, thus destroying whatever was in the path
of the resulting blast. Naturally, I took all possible precautions to
make sure that this did not happen until you had indicated what you
intended to do. One of these precautions would enable us to catch this
creature's thoughts without--"
As he was speaking, he eagerly put his hand into his pocket, intending
to show the older man the tiny on-off control device by which--when it
was off--they would be able to read Dzing's thoughts without removing
him from the cage.
He stopped short in his explanation, because an ugly expression had
come suddenly into Browne's face.
The big man glanced at Third Officer Mindel. "Well, Dan," he said, "do
you think that's it?"
Lesbee noticed with shock that Mindel had on sound amplifying
earphones. He must have overheard every word that Browne and he had
spoken to each other.
Mindel nodded. "Yes, Captain," he said. "I very definitely think he
has now told us what we wanted to find out."
Lesbee grew aware that Browne had released himself from his
acceleration safety belt and was stepping away from his seat. The
officer turned and, standing very straight, said in a formal tone:
"Technician Lesbee, we have heard your admission of gross dereliction
of duty, conspiracy to overthrow the lawful government of this ship,
scheme to utilize alien creatures to destroy human beings, and
confession of other unspeakable crimes. In this extremely dangerous
situation, summary execution without formal trial is justified. I
therefore sentence you to death and order Third Officer Dan Mindel to--"
He faltered, and came to a stop.
V
Two things had been happening as he talked, Lesbee squeezed the "off"
switch of the cage control, an entirely automatic gesture, convulsive,
a spasmodic movement, result of his dismay. It was a mindless gesture.
So far as he knew consciously, freeing Dzing's thoughts had no useful
possibility for him. His only real hope--as he realized almost
immediately--was to get his other hand into his remaining coat pocket
and with it manipulate the remote-control landing device, the secret of
which he had so naively revealed to Browne.
The second thing that happened was that Dzing, released from mental
control, telepathed:
"Free again--and this time of course permanently! I have just now
activated by remote control the relays that will in a few moments start
the engines of this ship, and I have naturally re-set the mechanism for
controlling the rate of acceleration--"
His thoughts must have impinged progressively on Browne, for it was at
that point that the officer paused uncertainly.
Dzing continued: "I verified your analysis. This vessel does not have
the internal energy flows of an interstellar ship. These two-legged
beings have therefore failed to achieve the Light Speed Effect which
alone makes possible trans-light velocities. I suspect they have taken
many generations to make this journey, are far indeed for their home
base, and I'm sure I can capture them all."
Lesbee reached over, tripped on the intercom and yelled at the screen:
"All stations prepare for emergency acceleration! Grab anything!"