Dorsai! (cc-1) by Gordon R. Dickson

Author:Gordon R. Dickson [Dickson, Gordon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sf_space
Publisher: DAW
Published: 1976-10-08T16:00:00+00:00

Phase Shift

— Darkness …

“ — Up!”

It was a snarling, harsh, bitter whisper in Donal’s ear. He wondered, eyes-closed, where it was coming from. He heard it again, and once again. Slowly it dawned on him that he was saying it to himself.

He fought his eyes open.

The control room was still as death. In the depths of the eye before him three small tiny shapes of ships could be seen, at full magnification, far-flung from each other. He fumbled with dead fingers at the ties on his suit, then bound them to his chair. One by one they came free. He pushed himself out of the chair and fell to his knees on the floor.

Swaying, staggering, he got to his feet. He turned himself toward the five chairs at the control panel, and staggered to them.

In four of the chairs, Bannerman and his three officers sagged unconscious. The Third Officer seemed more than unconscious. His face was milkish white and he did not seem to be breathing. All four men had been sick.

In the fifth chair, Lee hung twisted in his ties. He was not unconscious. His eyes were wide on Donal as he approached, and a streak of blood had run down from one corner of the orderly’s mouth. He had apparently tried to break his ties by main strength, like a mindless animal, and go directly to Donal. And yet his eyes were not insane, merely steady with an unnatural fixity of purpose. As Donal reached him Lee tried to speak; but all he was able to manage for a second was a throttled sound, and a Httle more blood came out of the corner of his mouth.

“Y’arright?” he mumbled, finally.

“Yes,” husked Donal. “Get you loose in a minute. What happened to your mouth?”

“Bit tongue—” mumbled Lee thickly. “M’arright.”

Donal unfastened the last of the ties and, reaching up, opened Lee’s mouth with his hands. He had to use real strength to do so. A little more blood came out, but he was able to see in. One edge of Lee’s tongue, halfway back from the tip, had been bitten entirely through.

“Don’t talk,” directed Donal. “Don’t use that tongue at all until you can get it fixed.”

Lee nodded, with no mark of emotion, and began painfully to work out of the chair.

By the time he was out, Donal had managed to get the ties loose on the still form of the Third Officer. He pulled the man out of the chair and laid him on the floor. There was no perceptible heartbeat. Donal stretched him out and attempted to begin artificial respiration; but at the first effort his head swam dizzily and he was forced to stop. Slowly he pulled himself erect and began to break loose the ties on Bannerman.

“Get the Second, if you feel up to it,” he told Lee. The Cobyman staggered stiffly around to the Second Officer and began work on his ties.

Between the two of them, they got the three Freilanders stretched, out on the floor and their helmets off.

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