by André Caroff
“Incredible!” Akamatsu was stupefied, “We arrived exactly during the hour of neutralization. It’s nine o’clock. Madame Atomos has gone back to her old habits.”
Beffort rushed into the room, swiped two disintegrator rifles and went down the line of beds. “Susan Doolittle is here!”
Akamatsu also took a rifle and joined Beffort. The young lady was out like the dead, which was frightening because it was true that she was dead to society. In truth, the servants of Madame Atomos were divided into two categories: the living, controlled by a motor-brain that could be removed by a surgical operation, and the dead, controlled by domesticated atoms.
Mie Azusa, the ex-Miss Atomos, had been brought back to normal life, as well as Yuri Belof and Jean Marchand, by the doctors in a clinic in Atlanta4. As far as Susan was concerned (and all the others around her), there was not a sliver of hope. To send them back to nothingness was the only service that could still be done for them.
Beffort lifted his disintegrator rifle and pressed the trigger.
Chapter VIII
There was a brief sizzling sound, a faint light, and then the first row of beds was disintegrated. Beffort did the same with the other row and in the blink of an eye the room was empty. On the ground was nothing but a little more dust.
Akamatsu turned to the door. “100 fewer servants of the Organization. That’s a hard blow for Madame Atomos. With these rifles we can destroy everything she has underground here.”
Beffort shook his head. “As long as Madame Atomos is alive, Yosho, it won’t do any good. She’s the one we have to disintegrate. Otherwise she’ll start over again at some time or another. Come on, we have to get a closer look at the flying saucer.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“I don’t know yet, but we’re in the enemy camp and it’s our trump card.”
Akamatsu looked at his watch. “9:10,” he announced. “In 50 minutes the Great Brain is going to wake up. At the same time it’ll see that 100 servants are not answering its call in this shelter and it’ll mobilize its forces against us. Right now we’d be better off getting out of here.”
He spoke calmly, with no fear in his voice, but Beffort was not fooled. Akamatsu was warning him against acting too rashly, which the unexpected possession of the disintegrator rifles might push him to do. It was certainly favorable to a bold move, but to destroy the underground shelter and everything inside it was like breaking one link in a long, long chain. The heart of the Organization was on Atomia Island. By putting the Great Brain out of service, Beffort knew that it would take away 80% of Madame Atomos’ power.
“Yosho,” he murmured, “you’re right to be cautious. However, if we leave this place without trying anything, don’t you think we’ll feel guilty? Right now Madame Atomos is taking a rest, as well as all the members of her Organization, but fire is still ravaging California. Above us there’s maybe nothing left but burnt land. Sacramento is maybe in ruins. And how do we know that new fires haven’t broken out in other states?”
Akamatsu looked at his watch. Only 38 minutes left,” he said calmly, “and you still don’t have a plan. I asked you what you planned to do. Give me an answer, Smith. Personally I have absolutely no idea.”
Beffort marched toward the flying saucer and looked at the flight computer. “How do you program the saucer to fly all the way to Atomia Island?”
Akamatsu was shocked. “You’re joking, Smith!”
“Not really. Past experience has proven that the saucers work during the neutralization hour. That’s how my wife was saved from a horrible end and Yuri Belof and Jean Marchand were able to be operated on in Atlanta.”
“They knew how to work the computers,” Akamatsu objected, “which is not our case. Even if we manage to get the thing up in the air, how can we be sure of its destination?” He pointed to the concrete ceiling and added, “And first we’ll have to find a way to get the saucer out of here.”
“It got in here.”
“Okay, but how?”
Beffort examined the ceiling and noticed a thin crack running across its width. “Okay,” Akamatsu said, following his eyes, “the exit is there. Now we just have to find out how to open it.”
Beffort pointed to the panel on the wall between the computer and the TV screens. “Seeing that you’re so brilliant at control panels,” he invited, “let’s get this bird out of here.”
Akamatsu did not have to be asked twice. He carefully examined the controls, followed the insulated wires that spread out every which way and ended up choosing a lever off to the side, but he hesitated to pull to it. Clenching his jaws, he held his hand in mid-air.
“Go on!” Beffort said.
“Anything could happen, Smith.”
Beffort stood next to him and squeezed his arm. “We have to risk it, Yosho. What are you afraid of?”
“The place could blow up.”
Beffort nodded, pushed his colleague aside and threw the lever. At first, nothing happened and then a vertical door opened in the saucer, revealing metal stairs. The opening was narrow; only one person at a time could go through.
Akamatsu looked up, “See that, Smith?” The concrete ceiling was slowly parting like the dome of an observatory. Blue sky appeared and the sun slipped into the underground.
“One more point for us,” Beffort said. “What time is it?”
“9:30. Only 30 minutes left.”
“That’s not much but don’t forget that this saucer is extraordinarily fast. Let’s see the computer.” Beffort and Akamatsu leaned over the device. Beffort admitted, “It’s all Greek to me. How do you figure out which numbers correspond with the location of Atomia Island in this electronic mess?”
Akamatsu took some time to think. During a previous affair5 he had succeeded in sneaking onto a flying saucer just like this one and he remembered that the machine had a weird control panel. “Stay here, Smith. I’m going to enter the saucer and try to get the automatic pilot to link up with the computer. I don’t know how it’s done on the keyboard…”
“Doesn’t matter,” Beffort interjected. “Give it a try!”
Akamatsu turned around, went to the saucer and slid into the narrow opening. He climbed the ten steps until he reached a landing that looked like a dead end. The area was so small that his body brushed up against the walls on both sides. It was like every inch was being used to the maximum, as if the saucer was built like a submarine. Akamatsu touched the wall facing him and it immediately disappeared, revealing a circular corridor with a strange blue glow. No blinding light, but everything was lit, like reflecting crystals. The floor was made of a soft material that absorbed the sound of footsteps and the total silence suggested that soundproofing here had reached its climax.
Yosho took off to the left, rushed down the corridor and stopped at the exact point where he remembered from before. He waited and then moved around, trying to cut off the beam to open the wall. Nothing happened. He became upset, feeling the seconds tick off, and ran the whole length of the corridor. The damn beam was at the other end and Akamatsu understood that he had to be wary of his memories. The wall slid open and the Japanese entered a round room with a low ceiling and seats along the wall. In the center of the room was a ball under a glass bell jar hooked up to a tube coming out of the ceiling.
Akamatsu bent over the ball and saw that it was a perfect representation of the earth. A thin needle came out of the tube, grazing the globe, and pointed at the moment to the west of the United States, more precisely to around Bishop, California. He was sure that the needle indicated the exact place where the saucer was right now, represented by a cross. There were other crosses on the globe—one of them in the Pacific off the coast of Honolulu. This was where the experts placed Atomia Island, after some partial confessions of members of the Atomos Organization, even though they were never able to locate it.
Akamatsu knelt down to get a closer look at the control panel at the foot of the glass jar. He selected an indented knob in t
he center of a calibrated dial and turned it carefully. An arrow sweep along the dial, activating the globe. The countries started rolling under the central needle. Akamatsu turned the knob more slowly, keeping an eye on the Hawaiian Islands, and stopped when the needle was exactly over a cross marked in the Pacific Ocean to the south of Honolulu. On the dial, the arrow pointed to the number zero.
Nervously, Akamatsu left everything where it was, dashed out of the saucer and ran up to Beffort. “Smith! I think I’ve found Atomia Island!”
“Tell me…”
“The control panel on board points to an island when it’s at zero. In my opinion, if we program the flight computer for this number, the saucer should bring us straight to Atomia.”
“Beffort looked at his watch and said, like in a dream, “9:38. The Hawaiian Islands are over 2,000 miles from San Francisco…”
“According to recent calculations,” Akamatsu cut in, more excited now, “Madame Atomos’ saucers fly at around 18,000 miles per hour, which would mean that we could be in Atomia in 6 minutes and 40 seconds!”
“Good God,” Beffort was shaken up, “now we’ve got plenty of time. Quick, Yosho, program the computer to zero. I’ll get on board with the rifles.”
Akamatsu went to work, brought the number zero up on the screen and ran to the saucer where Beffort was waiting for him in the cabin. Under the bell jar, the globe was spinning around noiselessly.
“Let’s sit down,” the Japanese advised. “If my memory serves me correctly, the saucer is going to take off any second now.”
He had not finished speaking when the cabin door snapped shut. Then the violence of the takeoff plastered the two men to their seats while a shrill noise pierced their ears so that when they were finally able to speak, the saucer was already flying over the Pacific.
Meanwhile, Dr. Soblen was telling the FBI and the Green Dragon Force about the probable presence of Madame Atomos in California. Naturally, the news fell like a bomb and spread like wildfire across the United States. In one hour, the army, navy and air force were ready to fight. California was literally encircled by thousands of armed men and a veritable armada was stationed along its coast from Crescent City to San Diego. Likewise, Owen Bernitz and his ex-cons or ex-death row inmates were landing at the airport in Bishop. Every one of them was equipped with a paralyzing rifle and a miniature walkie-talkie, which allowed them to stay in touch with a mobile operator, maintained by Sammy, that moved to wherever the action was. The spearhead of the Green Dragon Force was represented by a formidable quartet: Owen Bernitz, Ralph Stutton, Art Baxter and Lucky Simms.
While the members of the Green Dragon Force and the federal agents were combing California, Eddy Witter, Charles Hyde and Bernitz’ group were contacting Dr. Soblen. So, everything was happening faster than Beffort had imagined and the implementation of the operation coincided almost exactly with the moment when Akamatsu found that Atomia was point zero.
Since the fire had broken out in the forest, Soblen was restless. He was sure that this fire had been started to keep his friends from approaching the property and he was torn up when he thought about their fate. Needless to say that they were fighting the fire on every front. Catalina airplanes were pouring tons of water on the forest and firefighters from Bishop had plenty of work, but no one had seen Beffort or Akamatsu. Soblen only heard that the property was burning and this did not make him feel better.
“What can we do, doc?” Bernitz grumbled as he chewed his eternally unlit cigar.
“I don’t know,” Soblen answered frankly. “Beffort and Akamatsu were supposed to wait for us at the edge of the forest. It was agreed that I should stay here and point you to the meeting place, which I did but now it’s completely useless. I think we should stay here. Smith will end up getting in touch with us…”
Witter interrupted, “Our primary mission is to capture Madame Atomos. The events might have led us to believe that she’s hiding on the property, but that’s out of the question now. Still, we know that Susan Doolittle entered the house, which is probably one of the hideouts of the Atomos Organization. Well, a house visited by the Organization always has one or more underground passages for a quick escape. Do you agree?”
Everyone nodded and Soblen asked, “Do you think it’s possible that Madame Atomos is still in the area?”
“Why not, doctor? The forest is burning but the underground is intact. Look, the fire is starting to go out without anything to burn. In a little while we can take a look around the ruins of the house. Maybe we’ll meet up with Beffort and Akamatsu.”
This conversation took place in the main police station in Bishop, which had become the HQ of the FBI and the Green Dragon Force. That was where the news was pouring in. At 9:40 a short message from around Fresno said that an unidentified flying object had just flown over to the north of the city. It was incredibly fast and heading west. 36 seconds later another message came in from Lucia, a small town on the west coast south of Monterey, also signaling the passage of a UFO speeding off toward the Pacific. Two seconds after this, it was a destroyer from Admiral Greens’ fleet that picked up the mysterious object and then the airwaves were silent.
“Too late,” Witter groaned, “Madame Atomos has just escaped on board a flying saucer!”
His conclusion was logical. No one could have imagined that the saucer was carrying Beffort and Akamatsu to Atomia Island, but if someone did know, he would not have given them good odds.
Chapter IX
It was an extraordinary leap into space, but Beffort and Akamatsu felt like the machine was not moving. The globe was turning in its glass jar, whistling low, and a red light was blinking on the control panel. Apart from this, nothing indicated that the saucer was flying at supersonic speed. The floor remained perfectly horizontal and the air was cool, completely breathable.
“Are we flying?” Beffort asked.
“No doubt…”
“Are you sure, Yosho,” Beffort mumbled, feeling uneasy.
The Japanese stood up with no problem and walked around the cabin without feeling off-balance at all. “We took off,” he said, “that’s for sure.”
Beffort did not answer. He was starting to regret having undertaken this incredible escapade. From now on he and Akamatsu were caught up in the works of the Atomos Organization. It was sleeping for the moment but only with one eye closed like an idling engine. Somewhere on Atomia an electronic brain must have been recording the saucer’s movements. Right now it was not important, but in a few minutes, at precisely ten o’clock, the Great Brain would awake from its lethargy, a computer would turn on and the members of the Organization would again be taken over, one by one, with no mistakes, and a counter would show that 100 servants were missing the wake-up call in the underground shelter of Bishop. Then the Great Brain would register the saucer’s flight, the presence on the island of two strangers…
“In one minute we’re going to land,” Akamatsu said, as he was following closely the hands on his watch.
“And it’ll be 9:45?”
“Yes, and a few seconds. That gives us around 15 minutes to act. That’s more than enough… except I wonder how we’re going to get back?”
Beffort grinned. “If we destroy the machines on Atomia, the saucer will be useless. But don’t forget the main objective, Yosho: we have to kill Madame Atomos! The 15 minutes we have should be consecrated to finding our enemy.”
“And if she’s not on the island.”
“She might not be there. In that case, we’ll do our best to destroy the Great Brain. Without it, Madame Atomos won’t have her servants or any means of escape. Stuck in the US, she’ll be vulnerable, as long as we get back in time to launch the search.”
Akamatsu nodded. “I’ll tell you something, Smith, because it’s obvious that the radars picked up our flight at the start of the trip: right now everyone thinks that Madame Atomos was on board...”
He stopped talking because the saucer had just slowed down abruptly. He jumped to his sea
t and sat down just in time to save himself from the hard braking that plastered him and Beffort to their seats during the maneuver. Then everything stopped and there was a shock. The globe gradually slowed down under the glass jar and finally came to a standstill while the red light went out.
Akamatsu ran up to it and looked. The needle was dead center at point zero. “We’re on Atomia, Smith!”
“9:46. Let’s get out of this prison.”
Like a wish come true, the door of the cabin slid into the wall and the glow in the corridor became brighter. Beffort grabbed a disintegrator rifle, motioned Akamatsu to follow him and ran into the corridor. The two men went down the metal stairs and came out in a circular room without any visible exit. It contained only a flight computer and a wall panel like in the Bishop shelter. The silence was heavy, the air thick and the temperature almost unbearable. The walls glowed with a gloomy blue light. Beffort looked up. It was like there was no ceiling, maybe because the blue light hid it among shadows. Anyway, its weird shape gave Beffort the feeling that the saucer was now lying inside a giant bottle made of steel and with cork stuck in its mouth.
“Weird,” Akamatsu whispered.
“You can say that again,” Beffort clenched his teeth. “We got out of the saucer easily enough but tell me how we’re going to get out of here.”
A sound made them turn around. The vertical door of the saucer had just closed. Then, without any warning, the machine rose 40 feet off the ground and hovered there, suspended in mid-air like from a string.
“Damn, Yosho, what does that mean?”
The Japanese shrugged his shoulders and pointed to the computer. “Maybe this is all normal,” he said questioningly, “and we’re supposed to do something with the computer to open this kind of lock.”
