Prisoner of Fire (16 page)

“So now you know, girlie.”

“Yes, now I know.”

It wasn’t contempt. It was only hatred. Janine thought that Vanessa was beautiful and that she herself was ugly.

“I may not be a walking talking doll, girlie. But I’ve got better tits than you have. I respond better. I know what it’s all about.”

Vanessa held back the tears, determined not to cry. “I’m sure you know what it’s all about, Janine. I really know very little. There hasn’t been much time… Must we be enemies?”

Janine laughed. “Yes, girlie. We are natural enemies. Nothing can change that. I’m going to take your Roland away from you—one way or another. Now you had better come downstairs with me. Prof doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

She was taken down into a large room where two
electric table lamps provided just enough light for everything and everyone to be seen clearly. The furniture was old-fashioned, well worn, and comfortable. One wall was almost entirely covered by well-filled book shelves. In a corner of the room there were various pieces of electronic equipment, some of which Vanessa recognised as being similar to equipment that Dr. Lindemann had used for recording the strength of telepathic transmissions and the level of reception.

There was a large settee, three easy chairs, several upright chairs and two small tables.

Roland sat in one of the easy chairs. He seemed quite relaxed. His hands were untied. Professor Raeder occupied a high-backed upright chair, facing him.

Quasimodo sat in an easy chair near Roland; and a lanky adolescent boy sprawled in a chair on the other side of him. Two strange children, a boy and a girl, had spread themselves out on the settee.

“Ah, Vanessa,” said the Professor in a silky tone, “how good of you to join us.” There was a laser pistol on the table by his chair. “I have just been explaining our security arrangements to Dr. Badel. He was most attentive. For your benefit, I will repeat them briefly. The house is totally surrounded by proximity mines which I can activate or de-activate electronically. Needless to say, now that we are all gathered together for what might be described as holy communion—” he permitted himself a brief laugh—“the mines will remain continuously active until we have satisfactorily completed our project. I hardly need remind you that you and Dr. Badel will be under continuous surveillance. But if, by chance, one or other of you should venture in an unauthorised fashion from this house, you will be blown to pieces. This I would regret somewhat, but one has to take elementary precautions. However, having
disposed of these distasteful preliminaries, let me assure you that your stay with us should be mutually rewarding.”

“When can we go, Professor Raeder?” As she spoke, Vanessa cast a glance at Roland His eyes seemed strangely remote.

“When our task is accomplished, Vanessa. It should not take long. Permit me to introduce your colleagues—those you have not already met… The young man sitting near Dr. Badel is Alfred. I think you will get on well with him. He has quite a nice nature and is rather good at making and breaking telepathic blocks. Our two young friends on the settee are Robert and Sandra. Robert has some talent for telepathic suggestion and Sandra, on her good days, is capable of telehypnosis. We have to be somewhat patient with Sandra, because she has not yet learned to exercise her powers properly… Janine and Quasimodo you have already learned to know and love. So now our little circle is complete.”

” Roland spoke. “Professor Raeder, Vanessa and I know your aims, and it is my professional opinion that you are mad. But do these—these children understand the kind of risks in which you propose to involve them?”

“These—these children,” repeated Professor Raeder with some irony, “are older than they seem. They fully understand the implications of my project, and they approve. Society has given them a rough deal, Dr. Badel. Society rejected them, then decreed that they should be tools of the state. I have given them back their individuality. They are willing to help me change the present state of affairs and produce a more flexible regime in which they may flourish.”

Quasimodo grinned balefully at Roland. “Grow up, stupid. Talk about risks! You’re supposed to be a clever
bastard, and you don’t know nothing. We all get smashed, sooner or later. That’s what it’s all about. Getting smashed. I been on the receiving end and now I’m going to be on the delivering end. Prof looks after us, ugly face. He knows what we want, and he’ll see we get it. So stuff yourself.”

Professor Raeder beamed. “The philosophy is a trifle crude, but Quasimodo has a certain primitive eloquence, Dr. Badel. I do not think you will recruit him easily to the ranks of pacifism.” He glanced at his watch. “And now there is a little treat in store for us all. In view of the recent political unrest triggered, I imagine, by Vanessa’s escape from Random Hill and the subsequent death of a small boy named Dugal Nemo, Sir Joseph Humboldt is speaking to the nation on his Security of the State Bill. In approximately forty-eight hours he will be dead. Let us therefore do him the courtesy of paying some attention to what may well be his final public utterance. Alfred, kindly wheel in the master tri-di and position it so that we can all see clearly. In about forty seconds, the Prime Minister will doubtless move us all with the nobility of his motives.”

Obediently, Alfred left the room and returned with a very large tri-di which was mounted on a trolley and obviously did not need an external power source. He positioned it carefully so that everyone could see.

“Turkish delight?” suggested Quasimodo hopefully.

Professor Raeder frowned. “Later, dear child. Turkish delight, at this moment, seems quite inappropriate… Channel One, Alfred. Please give us maximum definition. I think it is important that we shall see Sir Joseph with great clarity.”

Alfred adjusted the controls. The announcer, who was already introducing the Prime Minister, seemed to
materialise in the holopix like a perfectly real manikin, three foot tall. It was as if he were actually in the room. Then the cameras switched to Sir Joseph Humboldt. He was seated at his desk at Ten, Downing Street. He looked very calm, very confident, very forceful.

“Good evening,” he said. “To everyone, of whatever race, creed or political belief, in this still lovely island of ours, good evening. I speak to you as your Prime Minister and your first servant, of course, but I would greatly prefer to be speaking to you as a friend. Therefore let us forget about internal politics. Indulge my mood. Allow me to talk to you as your friend. I am not seeking votes, nor am I seeking any reward for myself. I am trying to do my duty to you as a friend would, by speaking the truth.”

“Splendid!” exclaimed Professor Raeder. “He really does come across beautifully, doesn’t he?”

Sir Joseph took a rose from the vase on his desk. He held it in his hand. It was a full, red rose, beautiful. He held it to his nose and sniffed ecstatically. “An English rose, my friends. Wonderful, is it not? But such a rose must be protected if it is to flourish.”

He held it a little away from him, and suddenly the petals began to wither. “A trick, my friends, a simple trick. I held the rose in the path of a beam of infra-red radiation. You could not see the beam. You had no means of knowing it was there. The radiation is invisible.” He took another rose and held it up, at the same time using his other hand to hold up a transparent shield. The rose remained fresh and full.

“You see, the shield protects this rose… I hate to see the destruction of roses. As many of you know, I grow roses in the garden at Number Ten. They soothe me in times of stress… Most of all, my friends, I
abhor the destruction of the English rose, and I will do all in my power to prevent it.”

“Bravo !”’ exclaimed Professor Raeder. “An appeal to the heart! Like me he is half-German, of course.”

“The rose and the shield are good symbols for the matter which I wish to discuss with you tonight. As you know, in recent years many astounding techniques have been developed in the field of psychology.” Sir Joseph laughed. “Like most of you, I do not pretend to understand them. I leave that to the experts. Telepathy has been with us perhaps since the birth of man; but it is only recently that science has enabled us to develop the techniques to exploit it fully. I use the word exploit with some misgivings. It is an ugly but accurate word. Throughout the history of mankind, the more aggressive nations of the world have ruthlessly exploited scientific discoveries for their own ends.”

“Your own end, Sir Joseph, is somewhat nearer than you may imagine,” interpolated Professor Raeder, rubbing his hands.

“Once it was gunpowder,” continued the Prime Minister, “then it became atomic energy and intercontinental missiles and space exploration. Now it is telergy—telepathic energy. I do not need to name to you—indeed, for the sake of diplomacy, I will not—those nations which seek the overthrow of Great Britain’s traditional, civilising role in international affairs. Sufficient to say that they are exploiting the new discoveries, telergy and the development of paranormal powers, as a means of strengthening their own positions and destroying the security of others.

“That is why I ask not only Parliament but the entire nation to endorse my Security of the State Bill. By this means we shall be able to recruit all gifted persons with paranormal talent wherever they may be found. They
will be the shield that protects the rose. In the new types of psychological warfare which our enemies both at home and abroad are developing, the paranormals will be our Brigade of Guards, an élite corps, commanding our respect, our devotion, our gratitude. We shall look after them well. Make no mistake about that. We shall look after them well, so that they may protect us and help us retain our commanding political position in Europe, our rightful place in world affairs. But it is not only in the field of security and counter-espionage that they will prove—and, indeed, are already proving—their incalculable value. There are, happily, more peaceful, more constructive ways of using their wonderful talents, such as in space communications, in psychotherapy, in teaching, in criminal reform, even in marriage guidance.

“I know that many of you are anxious about your children. You know that teams of government scientists are already visiting schools throughout the country to test for paranormal talent. You are afraid, perhaps, that if your child is found to be gifted, he or she will be whisked away for intensive training.

“Let me assure you of two things. The first is that, to develop paranormal talent to its full, it must be recognised early and trained by experienced people. The second is that, under no circumstances will a child be alienated from its parents. We in this country still have a great reverence for family life and ties. And I can promise you, with my hand on my heart, that the powers we deem necessary to assume for the security of the state will not be abused. Further—“

“Cut!” said Professor Raeder. “Cut this drivel, Alfred, before I get indigestion.”

Alfred dutifully manipulated the controls. The tri-di image dissolved. There was a brief silence.

“Well,
Vanessa,” said Professor Raeder, cheerily, “that is the man we shall shortly destroy. He is the one who, for his own political aims, has publicly announced that you do not exist. He is the one who caused the record of your birth to be erased, ordered your mother to be subjected to humiliating interrogation and made it necessary for you to be murdered. I imagine you will derive some satisfaction when he is taken out.”

“I agree with Roland,” said Vanessa quietly. “I think you are mad.”

“So you are entitled to your opinion, child. But, plainly, you need some encouragement for your role.” The Professor smiled at Quasimodo and at Robert and Sandra. “Are you ready to come together, children? We have practised the drill many times.”

Quasimodo nodded, with a bored expression.

“Yes, Prof,” said Robert. “We are ready.”

“Janine, you will reinforce Sandra. Help her if she wavers. Alfred, be ready to break any block that may develop.”

Professor Raeder turned to Roland. “Dr. Badel, you are now about to participate in an interesting experiment. We have tried it and succeeded several times with mammals small and large. We have not yet tried it on man. But, personally, I am confident of the result…

“Alfred, Janine, Robert, Sandra, Quasimodo, close your eyes now. Seek rapport, find harmony. You are together … You have only one will… It is my will … I will count to five. Then I will utter my command. Execute it instantly. One, two, three, four, five … Kill Dr. Badel!” The final words were uttered with great ferocity.

Vanessa gazed at five paranormals, their eyes closed, their faces suddenly drained of expression. “Stop,” she called faintly. “Stop this dreadful thing.”

“There
is no stopping it now,” said Professor Raeder. “Five is the release word. Watch and take heed.”

Roland Badel, utterly surprised by the course of events, tried to rise from his chair. He uttered a strangled cry, shook himself as if he were grappling with some invisible opponent, then sank back. His limbs twitched and shook. His eyes were staring. Strange gobbling noises came from his throat. Then he gave a great sigh and became limp. His eyes remained wide open, sightless.

“It appears that Dr. Badel is now clinically dead, Vanessa,” said Professor Raeder calmly. “Personally, I had no doubts about the outcome. But confirmation is always gratifying.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “You have about three minutes in which to manifest total enthusiasm for the elimination of Sir Joseph Humboldt.”

“P
LEASE
! P
LEASE!” CRIED
Vanessa. “What do you want me to do?” She gazed round her in horror and misery, unable to glance again at Roland’s body, at the sightless eyes, at the fixed and terrible expression on his face.

The young paranormals had opened their eyes once more. Alfred looked puzzled. Janine now wore a petulant expression. Quasimodo treated Vanessa to a malicious smile. Robert and Sandra gazed with unrestrained curiosity at the body.

“Well, we did it, Prof,” said Quasimodo. “Nothing to it, really. Like you keep telling us, all we need is harmony and will.”