F. L. Wallace

“ Gowru struggled with himself, and decided to hoard the whisky in his glass. He sipped delicately at it. "I could have told you that and I don't have a psiscope. But how did you find out?"
"Imagine the comet swinging nearer the sun. Under the terrific radiation, the frozen ball of water melts and the atmosphere expands. In our psiscope, clearly illuminated, is an object no one else can see at that distance. It is a peculiar object, man made, and found only in one place on Earth." He paused. "At present we don't have a rocket capable of going to the moon. ”

“ Gowru had exerted himself and the shield had sliced through earth, water and sewer connections. Centrifugal force and the motion of the solar system through space accounted for their present position. The temple had whizzed away from the face of Earth before the astonished eyes of the Indian Army.
Gowru was still laughing. He clapped Rains heartily on the back. "So that's where it went," he said.
"Where what went?" asked Rains. They were doomed to be flung into outer space and nothing could save them.
"The Benares cremation barge. It floated to the comet." ”

“ Let them develop their own teleports, or approach our country through proper diplomatic channels."
"You're not thinking," said Rains. "With a teleport working for us we don't ask the army for a hydrogen bomb. One minute they have it safely hidden, and the next instant it's inside the comet. Let the military boys worry about how it got away and where it went.
"You see, the comet's been captured by the sun and moves in a very eccentric orbit just inside Jupiter. If we vaporize it now, it will lose most of its mass to those two bodies. There'll be little left to fall on Earth." ”

“ The structure of space. That's what he worked with, not molecules, though he didn't know it. Gowru had projected a space warp inclined chutelike toward Mars, and when the comet came along it had collided with a plane surface anchored to the entire universe.
Water, air, and a new planet to explore, with Gowru Chandit as his companion. But there was still one last defect. He groaned aloud.
"Is there something else to complain about?" asked Gowru.
Rains gestured savagely to indicate the whole temple. "I'm a man of science," he said bitterly. "I resent being marooned with religious fanatics." ”

“ The person he wanted had to be much more adept and powerful. Rains would have to look farther and Gowru would have to help him. "Gowru, I'm an astronomer," he began.
The Hindu raised his eyebrows to express interest. "I've always had a soft spot in my head for astronomy," he declared.
Evidently the idiom did change from country to country. "My colleagues and I at Palomar have discovered a new comet," he went on. "It is a strange comet, bigger than most, almost a tiny planet. The composition is stranger still, mostly oxygen and water."
Gowru nodded sagely. "And you want me to color the water. ”

“ Silently, Gowru gave him some of the soap plant, and he found another pool to bathe in. He emerged feeling much cleaner.
The Hindu had spread the clothing to dry in the clearing. Rains lay down and let the warm sun soak into his bones, pondering. They had no food and couldn't expect to find much in the swamp. And after last night there'd be soldiers around, combing the area, looking for an explanation of the mysterious tank. Now he couldn't expect to enter the Gommaf building undetected from the rear. They'd have to get back to the road that led to the city and from there return to the hotel. ”

“ But if there is much air and you want me to color that too, you will have to be satisfied with a light tint, a pale blue or green or pink."
"The color doesn't matter," said Rains gravely, and poured himself another drink. "In seventeen years that comet is due to strike Earth."
The Hindu bowed his head. "I've had a feeling of doom since you mentioned the comet," he said simply.
"Wrong," said Rains. "No doom. In seventeen years we'll have rockets that can meet it out in space. We'll load hydrogen bombs into rockets and blow the comet into fine crystals. ”

“ Rains' vision was growing a little fuzzy, but his intellectual goals had not changed. "It's not the pension," he said irritably. "I intend to save astronomy."
"It's not reasonable to be so obstinate when the heavens decree otherwise," declared Gowru. "You should cultivate an interest in other things. Girls are a nice hobby."
Rains muttered something about girls and Gowru interrupted.
"Good. We can start with girls and there's no telling where we'll end. I'm a guide and I can help in such matters. How many do you want?"
"I've only a normal—"
Again Gowru interrupted. ”

“ The land area will shrink, but that alone isn't disastrous. Forewarned, not many lives would be lost. Most people will have time to move to higher ground.
"However, there's another aspect. Air is also present in the comet and will be added to our atmosphere. The earth will grow warmer and the higher latitudes will become habitable. Perhaps we'll gain almost as much living space as we lose."
"Then let's rejoice," said Gowru, reaching for the bottle. "It's not every comet which is so considerate."
Rains replenished his own glass. "It's not an occasion for rejoicing. ”

“ Again the voice commanded, but Gowru paid no attention. A rifle shot sounded behind them and a bullet whizzed uncomfortably close. "Maybe we'd better stop," suggested Rains.
"A Chandit never surrenders," said his guide stubbornly. Abruptly the darkness around them deepened. Another rifle shot rang out. The bullet struck the tank shape, and glanced away.
Air did that, or more correctly, the psi forces of his guide's mind. He had grossly underestimated the man. "How did you do that?"
"Increased the thickness of the surface by a few molecules," said Gowru cheerfully. "Handy, if you know how." ”

“ Rains didn't want to expose himself, but he had to get in touch with the director of the Institute.
"If you want a fog, I'll get you one," said Gowru.
Rains glanced up. The Hindu was a queer fellow. Rains had dismissed the talk of coloring the comet's atmosphere as drunken boasting, but what if it wasn't?
"Can you actually create fog?" he asked doubtfully. ”

“ All day the automatic machinery hums. Yards pass through the vats, bolt after bolt is dyed, dried and wound, and nobody looks because this operation is automatic.
"Then, the manager comes to inspect production and rub his hands at the profits that will accrue to him. He unwinds a sample, looks at it and screams." Gowru stared mournfully at Rains. "Retroactive to that scream I am fired."
"But why?"
Gowru loosened a fold of his turban and spread it out so the pattern was visible. "I was projecting. Did you ever see such a headache reproduced in full color? ”

“ But the comet was still hurtling through space and the only man who could avert the collision was the teleport. Rains had to contact him. He produced a map and consulted with his guide. After some discussion they evolved a plan.
"If we come through the rear it's your opinion the telepath won't detect us?" Gowru murmured, obviously doubtful.
"It's worth trying," said Rains, folding the map. "Behind the Gommaf building is an electric fence and behind that is open country, mostly swamp. Normally the swamp is considered impassable, but there is a way through it. ”

“ He didn't blame them for being so wary; the darkness and isolation must seem like something supernatural.
Water was getting low too; only trickles came from the faucet. The shield had severed all contact with the outside world, including plumbing connections, and only a tank and a pressure system inside the temple had kept them going this long.
He'd have to risk a look, perhaps the vigilance outside had been relaxed. He shook the guide. Gowru grunted and stretched out his hand. Rains shoved a half empty bottle in it; he had to conserve. ”

“ After that I still have to contact the teleport, but once I know who he is, that's easy."
"Why not rent a copter and set it down in the middle of the swamp? It will save a lot of walking."
"It would, but it would also inform Gommaf that we're up to something. No, we'll just have to walk." Rains stuffed the map into his pocket. "Are there any shrines on the road to the city?"
Gowru Chandit shrugged. "There are shrines anywhere in India except straight up."
Rains nodded with great satisfaction. There'd be one there too when the hydrogen bomb exploded inside the comet. ”

“ We've calculated that, with the additional atmosphere and moisture, astronomy will become extinct. Cloud covered, the planet will be much like Venus. No one will be able to see the stars." He didn't mention that a few of the highest mountains would still rise above the clouds. He didn't because those mountains were in India and that country would then have a monopoly on the science.
Gowru wrinkled his face in pleasure at the whisky and then assumed a properly doleful expression. "I see. In seventeen years you'll be unemployed." ”

“ He looked questioningly at the swamp, but his guide frowned. "Snakes," he said laconically. "Tigers, crocodiles."
That left the plain, but out there they'd be spotted instantly, and picked up soon after. He couldn't afford to be questioned by anyone. He could hear the soldiers. They were getting closer.
The plain. They had to cross it and yet they couldn't. Unless—He turned to Gowru. "A fog," he said triumphantly. "All we need is another fog."
His guide smiled with sorrowful dignity. "It takes whisky to make a good fog. ”

“ Just the same, they were going to be on Mars with him and in self-defence he'd have to learn their religion, the better to refute it. "What are the fine points of their theology?" he asked.
"Very old," muttered Gowru. "Priestesses are selected for temperamental qualifications. Rites are ancient Hindu, maybe older than that."
"Rites?" he queried. "Sacrifices?"
"It's no sacrifice," yawned the other. "They're a local fertility cult."
Rains' mind swung back to the priestess he had encountered on first entering the temple, the only one he'd seen. ”

“ If they could get to the building and then to the highway, they should be safe. To get to the building was hardest. A few hundred yards away platoons of soldiers wheeled in formation. They'd be spotted if they tried to cross the open space.
He sighed. The soldiers might go away, but he couldn't plan on it. What would work—another tank on the plain? It would attract them, all right, but it would also be a signal to mobilize the entire army and put it on guard duty in this area. A sovereign nation didn't want strange tanks inside its borders. ”

“ The eye blurred. "Can't have the disposer damaged, so we draw the line. If it's as hard as a diamond it passes through."
It was a convenient line and a profitable one, Rains noted absently as he went closer to observe the inconspicuous screen. Was it so tiny that it could have been on without his noticing?
"People don't throw away diamonds the way they used to," the eye complained. ”

“ If his mission hadn't interfered, Rains would have liked to study these mentalists for his own satisfaction. He was a psiman himself, a powerful one, though of an elementary variety. He was a telepath, a man of one talent with no other ability—a simple psiman.
The emblem weighed as heavily in his pocket as it did in his mind. So far he hadn't found a quiet street on which to drop it. With so many people thronging the city, every city in India, it wasn't going to be easy. ”

“ Rains didn't want that, since it would reveal the nature of the tank. "Is there any other way to dispose of it?"
"I think so," said Gowru. "I can project it into the forest and let it rise later with a trail of fire. I can imitate a rocket."
A rocket tank would give them something to think about. "Excellent. But remember to drop out of sight in the trench. The troops on foot will be concerned with the tank. They won't notice us in the darkness."
Gowru nodded and they went on. Presently he spoke. "Here we are."
They dropped. The trench was deep and it was near a swamp. ”

“ We'll get him out of India some way." The country wouldn't take kindly to an attempt to smuggle out one of their mentalists, but it could be done.
"What good will that do?" questioned Gowru. "Even the most experienced teleport can't change the path of the comet. It's too big to move."
"He won't have to move it," said Rains. "We've positive proof that he did transport a—uh—large object to the comet. He did it once and he can do it again, except this time it will be a hydrogen bomb." ”

“ This time it was slightly bent.
"The disposer is for the convenience of guests. It's set to return all jewelry accidentally dropped into it."
Rains jumped and looked around wildly. He was certain there wasn't anyone in the room, and he hadn't observed a service screen. He still couldn't see either. But there was an eye staring at him from the wall.
"Shortages," explained the eye somberly, noting his bewilderment. "Our country doesn't yet produce all the material we need. Lacking full size tubes, the management of the hotel ordered smaller ones. They serve the purpose." ”

“ In the last few decades it had achieved industrialization not much below Western standards. But it was densely populated and living patterns were not always equal to those of Europe and America. Rapid technical advances created new jobs and wiped them out again over night. ”