Galaxy Magazine (January 1957) by Galaxy

Author:Galaxy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 1957-01-08T16:00:00+00:00

GALAXY SCIENCE FICTION

paragraph which was relevant here.

Van Pelt had told the general that Horn's health was not good. Apoplexy, I believe —I am not very familiar with medical terms. At any rate, Van Pelt, while being de-briefed by the general's intelligence section, had reported that the old man might drop dead at any minute. Well, he looked it, at least when he was mad. I certainly didn't want him to drop dead before I had made a proper Situation Analysis, for which I needed his report.

Horn sat down. He said, with rusty craft: "You're going to stick to what you say?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then," he said, with a pathetic, senile cunning, "I suppose I must reconcile myself to the situation. Exactly what is it you want, Lieutenant?"

"The report, sir."

He nodded briefly. "Just so."

Ah-ha, I thought — to myself, of course — this will prove interesting. Do you suppose he will try to win my confidence so he can phone his Congressman? Or merely get me to turn my back so he can clobber me over the head?

"Yes, yes, the report. Just so," he said, staring thoughtfully at a machine of some kind. It rather resembled an SCR-784, the Mark XII model, the one that has some-

thing to do with radar, or radio, something electronic. I leave that sort of thing to the Signal Corps-men, naturally. I have my job and they have theirs. "Just so," he repeated. "Well, I shall have to do as you wish. Observe," he said, rising, "my polycloid quasitron. As you see —"

There was a strangling noise from Corporal McCabe. I looked at him; he was in difficulties.

"Sir," I interrupted the doctor, "will you spell that, please?"

He chuckled rather grimly. "Just so. P-O-L-Y-C-L-O-I-D Q-U-A-S-I-T-R-O-N. Well, Lieutenant, you're familiar with the various potentiometric studies of the brain which— Perhaps I should begin further back. The brain, you must realize, is essentially an electrical device. Potentiometer studies have shown—"

P 1 VERY thirty to fifty seconds, *-* he glanced at me, and turned his head half to one side, and waited. And I said, "I see," and he said, "Just so," and he went on. Corporal McCabe was in acute distress, of course, but I rather enjoyed the exposition; it was restful. One learns to make these things restful, you see. One doesn't spend as much time as I have in staff meetings without learning a few lessons in survival tactics.

When he had entirely finished

THE HAUNTED CORPSE

(McCabe was groaning softly to himself), I summed it all up for him.

"In other words, sir, you've perfected a method of electronically killing a man without touching him."

For some reason, that rocked Dr. Horn.

He stared at me. "Electronically," he said after a moment. "Killing. A man. Without. Touching. Him."

"That's what I said, sir," I agreed.

"Just so, just so." He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "Lieutenant, will you tell me one thing? What in the sweet name of heaven did I say that gave you that particular stupid notion?"

I could hardly believe my ears.

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