A. E. van Vogt by The Universe Maker

Author:The Universe Maker
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2012-01-25T20:41:13+00:00

12

Ann Reece relaxed. The amused look came back to her face. She said with heavy irony, “One times one times one times one times zero equals a million. That’s the mathematics involved in your training. Anything else you want to know?”

“Damn you!” said Cargill. He was on his feet, leaning over the table toward her. “If you people expect any cooperation from me you’d better start telling me the facts. Whose idea was it to use me in whatever you plan to use me for in this Shadow City attack?”

“Grannis’.”

That held him briefly. “How come,” said Cargill finally, “that you’re all playing the game of a Shadow traitor?”

Ann Reece was cool. “We’re not playing his game. He’s playing ours. He agrees with us. He thinks we have the answer to the problems of this age.”

“You fools!” Cargill was scathing. “Why, you’re just a bunch of babes in the wood—”

He stopped himself in alarm. Careful, he thought. This was no time to reveal his knowledge that Grannis was playing on several sides. Slowly he settled back into his chair. He stared at her unsmilingly. She said, “As soon as you’ve finished eating I’ll show you to your bedroom. You sound tired.” There was no doubt of the sarcasm in her voice.

After she had left him Cargill explored his bedroom. The walls were done in shades of green, contrasting very effectively with a vividly white bed and white furniture.

He was surprised when he looked out of the window, to see that the room was on the second floor. Since he had climbed no stairs he guessed that the house was built on the side of a hill. He mentally measured the distance to the ground below, then frowned with irritation. Twenty feet was a considerable drop even for a strong active man. Not that it mattered. He doubted that he’d get far if he tried to escape through the window. He realized his method of handling this situation must be on a much higher level of action.

He turned back into the room and started to undress. He was tired and he fell asleep almost immediately.

Even as he slept he became aware of a voice talking to him, urging him to action. It said something about Shadow City and the necessity of breaking down the Shadow pyramid. “Throw the switch,” the voice commanded. “And the signal for you to act is—is—”

It faded away. The sound and its echoes retreated into an abyss of tune and space. He grew aware that Ann Reece and a man were in the room. The man said: “Does that complete it?”

“That completes it,” said Ann Reece. The two of them went out.

Cargill waited for he knew not what. Whatever had happened didn’t feel complete inside him. He had the strange sensation that something basic at the heart of his being had been disturbed. “It’s because of thethoughts I’ve had about reality,” he decided. “Except for that—it would be complete.”

A geometrical design drifted past his inner eye. It had black areas in it; and there must have been grief emotion, for he felt suddenly depressed.

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