IT WAS after five o’clock when all the reports were in. Five projectiles, larger than the former, and each destructive over a fifty mile radius, had struck the earth. The one which had so shaken Chicago had struck at Rochelle, Illinois, completely destroying that city and spreading death and destruction up to the very suburbs of Chicago on one side and across the Mississippi into Iowa on the other.
The second projectile had demolished Cincinnati, Covington and surrounding cities and hamlets with terrific loss of life. The third had struck squarely in the center of Birmingham, England, destroying, killing and maiming as far as Stafford, Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Worcester and Rugby. The fourth, alighting in the harbor of Tunis, had sunk and destroyed shipping, and created a tidal wave which had drowned many people on shore. The fifth had laid waste to Quito, Ecuador and the surrounding territory.
At five thirty, a report from Peiping stated that Khobr and nearby towns had been destroyed or suffered terrific casualties from a sixth projectile.
Leaving Roger in charge, Ted promptly took a super-electroplane to Washington. While he was closeted that morning in conference with the President, fifty aerial fleets of army engineers left the Capital, flying in various directions, but with their destinations kept secret.
During the day, representatives of various nations were called into the conference. Each representative, as he left the President’s office, was seen to speed away in a fast electroplane. Not one representative of a Mongoloid Asiatic nation was asked into conference.
After a busy day, Ted rushed back to his office where he found Roger up to his eyebrows in work, endeavoring to placate his wife for his tardiness to dinner, over his wrist radiophone.
“Listen, Leah,” he was saying. “I simply can’t get away now. I’m trying to manage things alone, you know, and hello! Ted’s here now. Be home, toot sweet, honey. Bye bye.”
“You married men—” began Ted.
“Have got it all over you single ones in many ways,” interrupted Roger. “Get things going in Washington?”
“Pretty well. I’ve organized our defense force, and have warned every nation that we have reason to believe is friendly. Before the moon gets into favorable firing position again we’ll have enough powerful magnetic poles set up to take care of the United States, and if the other countries keep on their toes they’ll be ready, too.”
“How do you know the poles will work?”
“Fragments of the lunar projectiles show that they contain large quantities of steel. We’ve divided the country into fifty zones, in each of which a powerful electro-magnet will be erected. Having erected these in the least populated districts of each zone, and warned the inhabitants to leave the danger area, our sole remaining problem is to make them powerful enough to attract the projectiles, which we can easily do with the resources at our command. Our power plants will be far enough from the magnetic poles to keep them from injury, and as soon as one pole is destroyed another can be quickly erected.”
“You sure have some head on you, Ted. What about the Mongoloid Asiatics? Find out anything?”
“Nothing definite. For the present we’re sitting tight and saying nothing. Professor Ederson will, no doubt, be able to check up on them. If they haven’t double crossed us there will still be plenty of time to explain my plan of defense to them.”
Professor Ederson did not arrive until late the following afternoon. Roger met him on the roof, and immediately escorted him to Ted’s private office. He was a little, wizened man, with a grizzled Van Dyke, a thin, aquiline nose, and huge, thick-Tensed glasses which gave him an owl-like expression.
“I’ve been studying the translation of Dr. Wu while Bevans, your admirable pilot, conducted me here,” said the professor when greetings were over. “It seems to me to be quite accurate.”
“What about the message he wrote for me?” asked Ted.
“I cannot, for the life of me, understand why you sent so belligerent a message,” replied the professor.
“Belligerent? What do you mean?”
Ted quickly produced an English copy of the message which he has asked Dr. Wu to translate into the Lunite language for him.
“Why,” said the professor, scanning it in surprise, “this is nothing like the message I have translated.”
“Let me have your translation,” requested Ted.
The professor produced a sheaf of papers from his inside coat pocket, selected one, and handed it to Ted.
The latter read it aloud:
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To the Imperial Government of P’an-ku: Greeting: The Associated Governments of the Earth have found cause for much mirth in the note of the Imperial Government of P’an-ku. It is the intention of the Associated Governments of the Earth to quickly and completely destroy Ma Gong (The Moon) if its inhabitants refuse to submit to the viceroys which the Associated Governments of the Earth are preparing to send to rule over them. The Imperial Government of P’an-ku has complained of the destruction of Ur. This is only a minute sample of the destruction which will be wrought on Ma Gong if there are any further acts of hostility on the part of the Imperial Government of P’an-ku. |
“Whew!” exclaimed Roger. “No wonder the girl and the old man looked horrified.”
“And it’s no wonder the imperious and belligerent P’an-ku sneered,” said Ted. “Looks as if we’re in for it, sure enough, now.”
“What about having Professor Ederson fix up a new note, right away, explaining everything and trying to patch things up?” asked Roger.
“We’ll try it,” replied Ted, “but I can’t bring myself to feel very sanguine as to the result.”
“Before we draft the note,” said the professor, “there are two things I should like to bring to your attention. First, a gigantic radio station has been set up in Peiping. Second, despite the fact that China reported the destruction of Khobr and nearby towns, I flew over Khobr and vicinity and could see no sign that there had been a disturbance there of any kind.”
“Professor Fowler only saw five flashes, all of which were accounted for,” said Ted. “The destruction of Khobr would have meant a sixth projectile, which left the moon without a telltale flash. As always, two and two continue to make four. There can only be one reason why Dr. Wu miswrote our pacific message-only one reason why the government of China lied about Khobr.”
“And the reason?” asked the professor.
“A secret alliance projected—perhaps even perfected by now—between the Chinese royalists and the Imperial Government of P’an-ku.”
“Precisely my theory,” said Professor Ederson. “The Chinese and racially allied peoples revere their ancestors to the point of actual worship. Small wonder, then, if they should have reverence for the living representative of their supposed first earthly ancestor, P’an-ku, and cast their lot with him and his people. Why man, the thing was inevitable.”
“And terrible to contemplate,” said Ted, dejectedly. “A united world could have fought off a dozen moons, but a divided world will have a slim chance. And the whole damnable affair is my fault.”
“Millions of sparks fall harmlessly, but here and there one starts a huge conflagration,” said the professor. “No earthly being could have foreseen the far-reaching effect of your apparently harmless spark, and you certainly are not morally responsible.”
“I hold myself so,” said Ted, “and it would be a small thing to me, could I but forfeit my own life to end the conflict. I have a plan, but I may not speak of it yet.”
“I hope you are not contemplating any foolhardy personal risks,” said the professor. “The world needs you more than any other living man, at present. We have thousands of scientists, but only one Ted Dustin.”
“Who has proven himself the greatest calamity yet born to the earth,” replied Ted. “But let’s prepare that message.”
A half hour elapsed before a message, satisfactory to all, had been drafted for the Imperial Government of P’an-ku. It took the professor an hour more to put it in the language of the Lunites. Then the air was cleared, and the three men went aloft to the gigantic radio tower.
While the professor held the message on a placard, Ted worked at the dials and Roger managed the recorder.
Their first efforts were rewarded by the faint sound of a woman’s voice and a dim vision of the beautiful girl seen on two previous occasions. Almost as soon as it began to appear, the image was blotted from the disc, and from then on until early morning, when the three tired men relinquished their unsuccessful attempt, they were rewarded only by blackness and a faint rumbling sound which greatly resembled distant thunder.
“Looks as if P’an-ku bad severed diplomatic relations,” said Roger, rising from his seat at the recorder and stretching his cramped limbs.
“I’m afraid you are right,” replied the professor, leaning his placard against a chair.
“We’ll try again, and keep on trying,” said Ted. “The Lunites should be amenable to reason if we can get the message through.”
Try they did, the following night, and each night thereafter for nearly two weeks. The results were only darkness, and the distant thunderous rumbling. Even the image of the girl had failed to appear for so much as a fraction of a second.
When the efforts of the last night had proved unavailing, Ted threw off the switch and rose with a look of grim determination.
“We must face the facts,” he said. “War is inevitable unless P’an-ku can be reached and influenced by a specific message. It will take two more weeks at the very least, to complete our large interplanetary vehicle. By that time the war will undoubtedly be in full progress.”
“What do you propose to do about it?” asked the professor.
“I will take the message in person,” replied Ted.
“How?” chorused his two surprised companions in unison.
“Come with me and I’ll show you, but you must preserve absolute secrecy.”